Highschool of the dead: the British outbreak
by Jangocommando27
Summary: The news reported that London had maintained order... but what about the rest of Britain? Here we follow the outbreak through the eyes of British teenagers who have had to grow up fast, or die. This is their story... Inspired by the 4 Horsemen of the dead's "of the DEAD" series
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Highschool of the dead. All Highschool of the dead characters and references to those characters that appear in this story are property of whoever owns high school of the dead.**

 **All that is mine in this story is my own characters...**

 **This Disclaimer covers the entirety of this story.**

* * *

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

Chapter 1: And shit hit the fan...

 **Jason**

 **Chester  
North West England**

 **Z-day  
08:57**

"Why the hell do I even bother?"

Jason looked over up from his book over at his friend Tom who had his face planted on his desk. He chuckled at his friend as he put his book down.

"Shot down again bud?" he asked.

"Shut up." mumbled Tom. Jason shook his head.

"Who was it this time? Mary?"

"Brooke."

"And the blonde bombshell makes it, what? 7?" Tom looked up and gave his best friend and gave him a death glare and the finger. Jason just shrugged and reopened his book. "I'll take that as a yes then."

"Arrrrgh! At least I've tried getting a girlfriend!" Tom replied sniped. "When was the last time you tried? huh?!" Jason chuckled.

"Dude, I'm a military nerd shut in." He replied "The chances of me getting a girlfriend are zero. Besides, I've got better things to spend my money on. "

"What is it this time? AK?" Groaned Tom.

"P90." Replied Jason.

Tom rolled his eyes, "How much?"

"Two hundred."

"Two hundred?! For a BB gun?!"

Jason shot his friend a glare and was about to launch into a full rant on the differences between airsoft and regular BB guns when the bell signalling the start of class chimed. Jason stowed the book and picked up the multicam patrol bag he used as his school bag. He waved goodbye and headed off for class.

 _He has got a point though._ Thought Jason. He was nearly 18, member of the Lower 6th form in his school, a NCO in the local Air Training Corps unit, and he still couldn't get a girlfriend. It wasn't for lack of trying initially, he'd asked one or two girls out and been rejected both times, after that he'd just given up. He could understand why he'd been turned down though; aside from military history and technology, he was very much an average student, a 'Jack of all trades but master of none' as a colleague had put it.

Besides, who wanted to go out with a military nerd?

 _No,_ Jason thought, _Might as well accept it. I'm not gonna get a girlfriend anytime soon._ He banished such thoughts from his head and reset his head to statistics as he headed into his maths class.

 **...**

A while later, Jason was distracted from his maths problem by the wailing of sirens. The school was situated on one of the main roads out of Chester heading for the motorways so the passing sirens of the emergency services were not uncommon. What was Strange however, was that this was the latest batch in 4 and was being accompanied by a police helicopter. Something was up, something beyond a normal car crash. His thoughts were interrupted by the welcome sound of the bell for the end of class.

He packed up his maths kit, vaguely acknowledging the maths teachers' announcement of the homework exercise before making best speed for his 'spot'. It was PSHE next, the single most boring subject he was forced to take, although sex ed had been very entertaining. He quietly made his way through the crowd of students and teachers, careful not to meet any of his teachers gaze or that of anyone who might tip them off.

He exited through a door and headed up a flight of disused stairs, exiting through a trap door into an attic. The Attic was a large room that stretched for a good 20 meters before coming to an abrupt stop. Light was sourced from a dull bulb hanging overhead and the light was let in through a single window that lead to a ledge large enough for 2 people to comfortably lie down on, and afforded a commanding view over the main entrance and car park. Inside, the spot was furnished with some IKEA bought furniture including a sofa, coffee table and some comfortable beanbag chairs. Drinks and snacks were kept cool in a mini-fridge in the corner.

The spot, or 'The club' to give its nickname, was a closely guarded secret. Its existence had been spawned from a group of 6th formers who'd founded the place a few generations ago as a place to play cards and gamble without the risk of teachers finding them. The Knowledge of its existence was handed down from 6th formers who were deemed as worthy to know of this hallowed places' existence.

Jason dropped his bag, retrieved a coke from the fridge and ducked out of the window and onto the ledge. He popped the can and toasted to his good fortune and drank deep from the refreshing drink. He retrieved his book from his bag before returning to his ledge to read in peace.

For a while he was undisturbed in enjoying the adventures of Biggles, until his attention was averted by the report of gunfire. He dropped his book and stood up from his previously sat position, inadvertently kicking over the half drunken coke can over the edge.

 _Gunfire._ He thought, _nine millimeter, military and armed police standard issue._

More reports followed, before a police car tore in through the front gate. Jason knew something was up, and it was probably not the time to be found in a secret room stashed with items that were considered contraband by the school faculty. He retreated inside and sealed the window. He collected his bag and killed the light, removed all evidence he had been there and retreated back through the trap door.

He got halfway down the stairs before the fire alarm sounded. _Shit_ he thought. He jumped the last few stairs and headed for the door. He dashed through the door and moved naturally with the students now exiting adjacent classrooms and heading for the fire exits. They bimbled as a semi-orderly mass until the fire alarm stopped. There was a moment of stunned silence before the headmaster's voice came over to the intercom.

However well he tried to hide it, there was pain, panic and fear in his voice.

" _Attention all students and faculty."_ He said, _"There is an emergency situation taking place in the local area. All students and staff are to evacuate the school grounds Immediately. Follow the direction of teachers and the police on site..."_

The mic dropped. There was feedback, then silence.

" _What are you doing?! Get back!"_ There was a blood curdling scream, then silence.

Then it seemed as if the entire school screamed. Students were panicking and scrambling for the exits. Teachers made valiant attempts maintain some measure of order, but failed amongst the tidal wave of panicking students.

Jason, while he did not scream, was certainly stunned by the development and made for the nearest exit. He turned a corner and skidded to a halt. The exit he'd gone for was jammed with a mass of students trying to cram through the door.

 _No way I'm getting through that, better try the sports exit._ He thought. He doubled back and sprinted through the corridors. For the most part they were now quiet and empty of life, but littered with abandoned papers and bags. Jason turned off the corridor and came to the sports exit, leading outside and onto a path that lead to the sports hall and overlooked the sports fields.

He kicked the door open to keep his momentum up; if staff caught him he'd take the punishment. He exploded out onto the path and kept running.

He saw a black spec of movement nearby and skidded to halt, turning to face the anomaly. There was a woman, standing over the top of a man who was on the ground, not moving. Jason considered running for help, but quickly vaulted the low fence and ran to help, but petered to a stopped when he got closer.

Their clothes were torn, and their bodies were lacerated and seeped black tainted blood. The man on the floor, who was a police officer judging by his clothes, was dead. His chest and stomach had been torn open and the woman had her hands deep into his organs, tearing them out and feasting on them. She did not even acknowledge Jason and continued her feasting.

Jason held back the urge to vomit. He stood there, staring at the woman feasting on the dead officers' carcass.

 _What the fuck is happening?_ He thought. He knew he had to stop this. He unclipped his bag, dropping it to the grassy ground with a muffled _thud._ She looked up, the man's partially eaten liver in her hands. Her face was covered in blood and fragments of flesh and her eyes were clouded over. There was no life in them.

Jason ran forward, breaking to a full sprint. She slowly began to rise and shuffle to meet him. When they closed, Jason broke his sprint and dug his right foot into the ground. He brought his left leg up and landed a spin kick to the woman's chest at full force. The woman stumbled and collapsed to the right. She was still alive and making snarling noises while she tried to get back to her feet.

Jason looked over at the officer. He was dead, his stomach and chest were a bloody mess that made Jason want to hurl. From his uniform, he was a traffic or maybe a patrol officer. But lying a short way from his body was a Glock 17 handgun. There was also a pistol holster strapped to his right thigh and a few spent shell casings on the grass.

He'd put up a fight.

Jason was about to go for the pistol when the woman lunged at him again. Jason stepped back and put his arms up in a fighting stance, crossing them across his chest to catch her as she fell onto him. He stumbled back onto the grass, fighting to keep her away from him. She was snarling and her blood stained teeth were biting for him. Jason, despite his disgust, kept his mouth closed, trying to make sure none of her saliva or the blood got into his body.

He pushed her back and kicked her off him. Given his change he rose to a knee and dived across the policeman's body for the Glock. He grabbed it and rolled to a knee. The woman was getting up again and ready to pounce again. Jason raised the handgun and fired into her chest 3 times.

She buffeted but kept coming.

He raised the pistol abit and fired again. The round tore through her neck and created a bloody splatter as it went out.

She lurched but still kept coming.

As she was about to dive on him, Jason fired again, this time into her head. The round went through her forehead, creating a small black hole slightly above and to the left of her right eye. There was a bloody mist behind her as she fell back.

This time, she was dead.

Jason, breathing heavily now, rolled back from his knee and sat on the grass. He'd just killed someone. He got a hold of himself and reasoned that it'd been self defence and she wasn't stopping. He got up and went over to the policeman's corpse.

The man was still alive. His face was showed no pain caused by his mortal injuries, but his eyes were glazed over in the same way as the woman's were. He couldn't move, the damage to his body meant that he could only snarl, bite his teeth and wave his arms at Jason in a futile attempt to grab him. Jason pitied the man. He levelled the Glock with the man's head.

"Sorry mate." He said. He pulled the trigger and put the officer out of his misery.

Silence descended once again. Jason looked around; the sound of gunfire would attract people, either police, or whatever they were. Before leaving he had a quick look through the officer's pockets, relieving him of 2 full magazines for the Glock and his holster. Jason replaced the nearly spent mag with a fresh one and placed them in his school blazer pocket. He then stowed the other items in his bag before heading back down the path.

 _Next stop, anywhere but here._ He thought.

* * *

 **Alex**

 **Countess of Chester hospital  
Chester outskirts**

 **Z-day  
09:30**

"So how did your date go last night Alex?" Alex turned round to her friend Joyce who asked the question. Alex smiled sweetly.

"Oh he loved me." She replied, "His girlfriend not so much."

Joyce chuckled "Someday you're gonna get in trouble for stuff like that." She said.

"Do we not have jobs to do ladies?" Asked the shrill voice of Dr. Glassman, "If not then I could certainly find you some." The young collage students jumped to and, both being clever people, remembered assigned tasks elsewhere. Alex continued down the hall toward her assigned ward. She was an 18 year old college nursing student with a placement in the local hospital, and thus she had stuff to do, such as look after and assist patients and the doctors.

Alex arrived in her assigned ward and started her rounds, moving to the first patient.

"Good morning Mr. Roberson." Said Alex, greeting the elderly gentleman in the first bed.

"Good morning Alex." He said kindly. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm very well thank you, and yourself?" The man laughed.

"Still kicking!" Alex smiled. Despite being in his early 80's and having recently had a hip replacement, Mr. Roberson was still as active as a man half his age and possessed a wicked sense of humour.

"Anything I can get for you then Mr. Roberson?"

"Well a finger of whiskey would be nice."

"Besides that..." He laughed.

"Well a glass of water would be a start."

"That I can get you." She poured a plastic cup of water and gave it to the man. He took a sip.

"Thank you." He said. "Now there are people in more need of your care than I. Off you go."

"I'll be back to check on you later Mr. Roberson." Said Alex as she continued on her rounds, "And I'd love another chess game if you have the time."

"Consider it a date." The man called, laughing as he did. Alex shook her head, the man knew how to make her laugh. She was about to continue her rounds and talk to the next patient when her pager buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the message.

 _Need help in A and E. Come now!_

Alex spun and ran, calling for one of the nurses at the ward desk to cover for her. She ran through the hospital corridors heading for Accident and Emergency.

 _This is my chance._ She thought as she rounded a corner, sidestepping a passing patient. _This is my chance to get some medic experience._

Alex had picked this course so she could get some hands on experience with emergency medicine. Her aspiration was to join the Royal Navy as a nurse, much like her grandmother had been. At the moment she'd been doing minor jobs in her placement, but now she was getting a chance to help in A&E.

She skidded through the doors to A&E, and was greeted by a wave of chaos. Behind the soundproof walls that separated it from the rest of the hospital, was a scene akin to one in a movie. There were dozens of patients with injuries in the waiting area and more being bought in on Gurneys by paramedics. For a moment she froze, the scene just...

"Oi!" shouted a Doctor. Alex snapped out of her trance and looked up, "If you're not gonna help then get out!"

"What do you need?" Alex called back, moving closer to the doctor.

"We need to get these patients sorted into priority and get them treated as such." Replied the Doctor. "Can you do that?"

"Yes Doctor." She replied, "What happened to them?"

"Fuck knows." He replied as he directed the paramedics to a spare spot on the wall, "Police are saying civil unrest but others are saying they were attacked. Either way, not our problem. Now get on it."

Alex didn't acknowledge verbally but went straight to work assessing the mounting pile of casualties. She worked through the first few, mainly banged up with bruises and the odd laceration, nothing major. As she worked, some of the patients said how they were attacked, how people tried to _bite_ them. As she moved through the line of patients, she came to a man on a Gurney. He wasn't moving. She felt for a pulse, but failed to find one.

"Doctor," she called out. "He's gone." The doctor rushed over and checked himself to be sure.

"Take him to the Morgue. Then get back here." He said. Alex nodded. Before taking the back of the man's Gurney and started wheeling him out of the room. As she was about to push through the doors, she was grabbed on the arm. She looked down to see a woman in her mid 20's with a bloody gash down the right side of her face.

"Don't do it." She said, "Get away from him." Alex smiled at her.

"He's not gonna hurt me." She said, she then brushed off the woman's grip and pushed the gurney through the door. She didn't hear the woman say;

"Yes. He will."

...

Alex exited the cargo lift and pushed the gurney into the morgue. The morgue was Alex's least favourite place in the hospital, it was a place that marked their failure to preserve life, and as such it was cold and lifeless. Alex looked around the basement room, looking for the attending doctor. The Morgue was a room in which every surface was polished steel to a high shine, with 2 examination tables in the centre.

"Doctor?" Alex called out, pushing the gurney further into the room. There was a moan from behind one of the tables. Alex stepped forward towards it, earring on the side of caution due to being slightly spooked by the situation. She rounded the corner of the table... and screamed at what she saw.

The doctor was on the floor dead, with a man crouched over him and feasting on his flesh. The man turned around. His eyes were partially glazed over and his mouth and teeth were dripping with blood with bits of the doctor's flesh still stuck between them. His skin was discoloured and body was cut open and black, rotten entrails hung out of them.

Alex unknowingly started back pacing. The man started stalking towards her. She kept her eyes forward on him. She slowly backed up, until there was a sickening _thud_ from behind her. She spun round to find the body that had wheeled in on the gurney had fallen to the floor,

And was getting up.

Panicking at the situation, Alex turned and ran. She crashed through the doors to the stairwell and started climbing. She rushed up 2 flights of stairs before she came to the ground floor exit. She rushed through it and slammed it shut behind her. She then put her back against the door, taking a deep breath before sinking to the floor.

 _What was that?_ She thought. She put her heads in her hands. _That man was... was..."_

"Hey! You!" A voice called out. Alex hesitantly looked up. A man clad in black body armour wearing a gas mask ran up to her with sub machine gun in hand. He stopped just short of her and raised his gun on her. Alex put her hands up instinctively.

"Don't shoot!" she shouted.

"Are you bit?!" the man demanded, not lowering his weapon.

"What..."

"ARE YOU BIT?!"

"NO!" Alex screamed. She wasn't entirely sure what the man who she recognized as a police officer was talking about but she was relieved when he lowered his weapon.

"Alright listen to me." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "The outbreak has broken out in the hospital. All uninfected doctors and patients are to evacuate to Chester Market immediately. They're setting up an aid center there. Troops will be there to meet you. Do you understand?"

"Wh...What?" Stammered Alex, "What outbreak? What are you talking abou..."

"Look I've got no time to explain!" the officer almost shouted. He pushed her down the way he'd came up the hallway. "Get out of here! GO!" He started jogging down the hallway.

Alex was left speechless. _What outbreak?! What is he talking about?!_ She thought. She had no idea what was going on, but all her senses were telling her to get out of here. And maybe she'd get some answers at the market.

And right now, anywhere sounded better than here.

* * *

 **Jason**

 **Chester Outskirts  
North West England**

 **10:15**

Jason unlocked the front door of his house, then burst in Glock raised.

Nothing.

He closed the door and swept through the house, checking for any signs on what people he'd ran into on his way here from school were calling; the infected. After clearing each room, he determined the house was exactly as he and his mother had left it that morning. He locked all the doors and windows, before retreating up to his room.

He had tried to call his mother on her mobile on the way here, to check that she was alright but to no avail. He'd also heard conflicting view on what was happening at all from numerous people on the way here, everything ranging from and including biological weapon and government conspiracies, to the Ebola and the wrath of God.

Jason hoped that the news channels would have a more concrete explanation as to why people were suddenly killing and eating each other. He went to his room and turned on the TV. He watched stunned as he switched through various news channels, watching footage of attacks and the news presenters coverage of the story.

"... The government has started to take into effect measures against the outbreaks that are occurring nationwide..."

"...It is feared that more than 12,000 people have now been affected in the greater Manchester and North West counties thus far. The Prime Minister is currently holding an emergency session of the cabinet to discuss the deployment of disaster aid..."

She was interrupted by a gunshot. In the background there were armed police firing into a crowd of advancing infected.

"F... From what i can see here the police are now using firearms to gun down those infected... No... wait!.. Get back... NOOO!"

The screen faded to static before it switched back to a studio with another news presenter on it, looking shocked and disturbed by what had happened.

"I... It looks like we're having a problem with our field equipment... We will continue to bring you coverage of the outbreak from inside the studio. Due to the ongoing nature of the outbreak the police have requested that everyone stay home or indoors..." she was handed a piece of paper by a person off screen.

"This just in. The government has just authorized the deployment of reserve police and military forces to assist with evacuation and containment. All off duty and reserve Police, Army, Navy, Air Force and Cadet Forces are ordered to report to their bases for duty. This latest development..."

Jason shut it off.

If what the news lady said was true, and they were calling up the cadets... they really were in the shit. He was a member of the local Air Training Corps squadron, 610 City Of Chester squadron, so if things were that bad... he quickly recovered his laptop from his bag and fired it up. He went on to the squadron Facebook page to find if there was any orders given by the CO to the cadets. Sure enough, there was;

 _Cadets. We have received orders from HQAC and the local council to assist in managing the outbreak. All cadets are required to report to sqn ASAP! Wear combats and boots and bring any webbing, chest rigs or other tactical equipment you possess as well as your 3822s. NOTE: We do not know how long we will be required so bring sufficient combats for a few days._

 _Good luck everyone._

 _Sqn Ldr Marsden._

Jason powered down his computer and sat at his desk for a moment just to take it in. They had said all cadets, but how many would actually come? There were 100 cadets on the books at squadron. But of those, how many lived far enough away that they couldn't easily get to cadets? How many had received the call to arms? How many would actually answer it?

How many were already dead?

Jason shook the thoughts from his head, before he got up and headed for his combat cupboard.

The 'combat cupboard' as his mum called it, was the section of his bedroom cupboard where he kept his airsoft and cadet gear. Given what he'd seen and done that day, he decided his airsoft gear was a better bet. He replaced the tie, white shirt and black trousers of his uniform with assault boots, multicam fatigue trousers and a matching UBAC. He replaced his normal every day watch with a more rugged G-shock, and his plain black school socks with hiking ones. Lastly he donned his dark Blue RAF beret, molding it so the cap badge was over his left eye and the excess pulled over to the right.

He then removed his chest rig from its hanger, removing the airsoft magazines from its pouches. He checked the tactical first aid kit was well supplied and secured before packing a combat jacket, some snacks and other essentials for long deployments into the rig's utility pouches. Satisfied that his rig was set, he moved onto his school bag. He emptied it of text books and stationary, backing a change of underwear, spare fatigues and survival essentials into the bag.

He returned to the cupboard and removed the velcro unit patches from his cadet gear and applied them to his UBAC. He then retrieved a pair of thigh plates, one with a large utility pouch for his left leg, the other a knife and pistol holster for his right. He stuffed a waterproof poncho into the left one and secured it around his thigh and to his belt. He then went over to his bedside table and removed a combat knife from the top draw.

It was a well made replica of the Austrian combat knife made by Glock for the Austrian army. It had been a present from his friends for his 18th. He'd kept it sharp but never thought he'd have occasion to use it, 'till now. He slotted it into the holder which normally held a plastic airsoft knife.

He picked up the Glock from where he'd laid it on his desk. He ejected the magazine and cleared the chamber before recovering the spare magazines from his school blazer pocket. He emptied out all his magazines, doing an ammo check. He had 43 rounds, not much. He reloaded his magazines and put the partly empty and one full into some pistol mag pouches on his rig. He then slid a full magazine into the Glock and holstered it.

With his bag packed and gear stowed, there was only one thing left to do; leave a note to mum. He grabbed a pen and note pad. He wrote:

 _Dear mum,_

 _If you're reading this, I've answered the call to arms that was put out on the news earlier today. All cadet, police and military units have been ordered to assist in the evacuation and containment of whatever is happening._

 _I have heard that there is a refuge center being set up in Chester market, if you head there I will join you there when I can. (I assume that will be where we will be sent.)_

 _In case I don't see you there. Stay safe. And good luck._

 _Love_

 _Jason._

He put the note on the kitchen counter where it would be easily seen. He then collected his bag, took one last look around, and locked the door on his way out.

* * *

 **610 (City of Chester) Squadron HQ**

 **Chester Outskirts  
North West England**

 **10:50**

Jason turned the corner onto the street where squadron HQ was. Outside the building's perimeter was a pair of armed soldiers on sentry duty, and an Army lorry parked on the curve. Jason walked up and was stopped by one of the soldiers.

"Identify yourself." He ordered.

"Cadet Corporal Jason Rees." Said Jason, removing his 3822 cadet ID from his pocked and proffering it at the soldier. The second soldier took it, checking the ID photo against Jason and nodding.

"Right, arms out and legs shoulder width apart." Said the first soldier.

"Ok..." complied Jason wirily. The soldier started feeling along his body for something.

"Bite Check." Said the Second, answering Jason's unanswered question. He then saw the Glock on his thigh. "Where'd you get that?"

"Dead police officer." Replied Jason. "He didn't have need of it. I did."

"Fair enough." Said the second soldier. His colleague completed his search and handed back Jason's 3822.

"Alright you're clean." He said, "Head inside and you'll be kitted out and briefed." Jason thanked the soldier and headed inside. There was a sign in sheet on the unmanned front desk. He signed in and then went into the main parade hall.

The parade hall was a flurry of activity. Cadets dressed in various British camouflages were running to and fro, a palpable sense of urgency in the air. Jason spotted the squadron CO and marched up to him, saluting him.

"Sir." He greeted. The CO turned to him and returned the salute. Squadron Leader Marsden was a gentleman in his early 60's with balding white hair and glasses. He was almost the image of the classic English grandfather, if slightly younger.

"Good to see you Corporal Rees." Said Marsden.

"Likewise sir." Replied Jason. "What's the situation here?"

"We've got 30ish cadets including a handful of NCOs and we've been attached to a unit from 2nd Mercian and ordered to the centre of town. Grab a rifle and get ready."

"Sir." Jason saluted and was already moving by the time Marsden was bringing up a return salute. Normally he would have reprimanded the NCO for such an act, but today of all days he tended to let such things slide.

Jason moved into the mess where he found a pair of soldiers with a table handing out kit. Jason walked up to it and the sergeant manning it asked in a gruff voice,

"You qualified on the GP?"

"Yes Sergeant." Replied Jason. The Soldier pushed a rifle into his hand followed by a loaded bandoleer. Jason nodded and moved off to a side table to sort out the new kit. The rifle was an L98A2, the cadet general purpose version of the British army's SA80 rifle series. He set the bandoleer down before he checked and cleared the rifle. He then set about the bandoleer. It was loaded with 5 full 30 round magazines, as well as containing a cleaning kit for the rifle, a military water bottle and a bayonet in its pouch and scabbard. Jason set the mags in the pouches on his chest rig and stowed the cleaning kit and water bottle in an accessible pouch before then attaching the bayonet pouch to his rig.

He rigged up the rifle's strap and slung it across him in a high port before swinging it around to hang off his back. He handed the empty bandoleer back to the sergeant as he passed and nodded thanks as he walked back into the hall.

The hall was still dotted with cadets. Some were moving around on tasks. Others were checking their weapons or other pieces of kit. But Jason could sense a taste of fear in the air; he could see it in the faces of some of the cadets. How many had lost loved ones? He spotted one of the younger cadets, Cadet Oliver Nolan, barely 14 who was sitting down against one of the walls, thumbing with his weapon. He went over to join him.

"You good Nolan?" Asked Jason. Oliver looked up.

"Yes Corporal" he said, sitting up slightly straighter. Jason waved for him to relax; he sat down next to him.

"It's totally crazy right?" said James.

"Corporal?"

"Crazy. All of it. Were being called up to protect people from... whatever they are."

"They are just sick." Said Oliver, "They'll find a cure and it'll all go back to how it was." Jason was skeptical. The experience of the woman at school was still fresh in his mind. Whatever that woman was, she wasn't human. The look in her eyes, it wasn't one of a conscious killer. It was more, predatory, more instinctual, more feral.

"Maybe." Said Jason. He was about to think more on the issue when a loud, booming voice echoed around the hall.

"LISTEN UP!" it cried. Jason shot up to his feet. In the center of the room was Squadron Leader Marsden.

"We're heading out to Chester." He said, "When I call out your name, step forward. Jackson, Harper, Carpenter, Rhodes." The named cadets stepped forward.

"You are fireteam Alpha. Call sign Mike-Zero-Seven-Alpha. Understood?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Good." He tossed one of them a handheld radio and a small notepad. "Channel 3. Go board a Lorry." The cadets left. The CO continued his listing.

"Stephenson, Joyce, Dyer and Rees." Jason looked up. He caught the radio and notepad that was tossed to him. "Fire team Bravo. Channel 3. Call sign..."

"Mike-Zero-Seven-Bravo sir?" guessed Jason. Marsden nodded.

"Fall out." He said, "Fireteam Charlie; Patterson, Rhodes..."

Jason and the rest of Bravo moved out of the hall and headed through the mess towards the exit and the waiting army Lorries that would take them to Chester. He and his team boarded the first lorry and sat opposite each other on the benches in the back of the lorry. Once settled, Jason took a moment to assess his team;

Cadet Ethan Stevenson. Stevenson was normal height for a 15 year old. His otherwise pale face was pot marked with white headed spots that most teenagers struggled with at some point. Jason didn't know him well, only that he was a half decent first aider and an otherwise average cadet.

Nathan Joyce. Joyce was the youngest cadet on Bravo. Barely 13, he'd only joined the cadets 6 months ago, but in that time had been on practically every course that had run during that time. What he lacked in physical size, he more than made up for in commitment.

Naomi Dyer. She was the only female on the squad, and Jason didn't particularly like her as a cadet. Despite being only 14, she acted like she was a 20 year old university student on an eternal night out. She was also prone to temper meltdowns, especially when her makeup (which Jason couldn't help but notice was freshly applied) came into question or damage.

Jason stowed his concerns about his team aside and opened the notepad he'd been given. It contained his unit orders. After a quick read, he addressed his team.

"Right Bravo listen in. We're being deployed to the bridge gate on lower bridge street. Our orders are to assist the police unit manning the check point there with crowd control and evacuation efforts as they require. Everyone as they comes in they get a bite check. Anyone bit get sent to another treatment facility in Handbridge. If you see any infected, call it into me or the police officer. They will advise us from there. Any questions?"

Naomi put her hand up, still chewing gum as she spoke.

"Yeah... Like... how long are we going to be out?"

"As long as were needed Dyer." Replied Jason. Naomi glared at him.

"But, I've... like gotta date and stuff to do!"

"Tough Cadet!" replied Jason slightly harsher than he'd intended, "We've been called to help with a massive disease outbreak. I don't know or care how long we'll be out, and neither should you. Now swallow your gum, and get it together."

Naomi glared at him, before complying and going into a sulk.

"Anything else?" asked Jason. Nathan put his hand up.

"Yes Joyce?"

"Will we have to shoot anyone corporal?" he asked. Jason thought for a moment, feeling all eyes on him. It was a sensible question, one which he wasn't sure how to answer.

"Hopefully not cadet," Jason replied, "but potentially yes." Nathan sat there for a moment.

"Understood." He replied before going back to sitting quietly. Jason wondered if he'd said the right thing. Probably not, he'd just told a 13 year old that he may have to kill a person. Jason was about to reflect more on this when the lorry's engine coaxed into life and the convoy started rolling.

Jason quietly made himself a promise.

 _If I, or any of them get bit._ He thought, _"I'm not going to let them turn into one of them._ "

* * *

 **Dear reader;**

 **I hope you've enjoyed the first taste of what is to come of my first Zombie story.**

 **For those readers who have read and are reading my Girls und Panzer stories... fret not! I have not abandoned them! This for now gives me something to work on when I want to get away from it for a bit.**

 **Once my current GuP is wrapped up I'll be working on this story for the long haul.**

 **The basic premise of this story will be the following the outbreak in Britain and more specifically my home town of Chester. Some things have been changed about local organisations for obvious reasons but it will maintain as true as possible to real life.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the story and please review and let me know what you think**

 **Jangocommando27**


	2. Chapter 2

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

Chapter 2: Besides the Dying light...

 **Fred**

 **Eton Hall  
Outskirts of Chester**

 **Z-day  
11:24**

"Come on! Come on!"

"Keep going!"

"Just hang on Brad."

Fred and Fhajad did their best to run while carrying their injured friend Bradley between them, one of his arms around each of their shoulders. Fred spared a glance back over his shoulder. He wasn't sure if the one's who'd attacked them were still following, but he couldn't see them. Bradley coughed harshly, spitting some blood as he did.

"Put me..." _cough_ , "Put me down." He said. Fhajad looked over at Fred and he nodded. They slowed from their speeded pace to a walk before laying him down in the shade of an ancient cedar tree. As they paused to catch their breath, Fred thought about what had happened.

They'd been kicking a football about on a field outside their village when a random man had come towards them. They thought it was the field's owner coming to ask them what they were doing on his property so Brad had gone to talk to him. Next thing they know Brad was on the ground screaming as the man attacked him and bit him. Fred had managed to drag Brad away while Fhajad had attacked the man with stones. They'd got him away and patched up the bloody wound with their jumpers, but Brad had been getting worse. They'd tried to call the police or an ambulance but their calls weren't getting through. Then more people had come and they tried to attack them, they'd been running ever since.

Fred was brought from his musings by the sound of more pained coughing. He moved to Bradley's side. Fhajad was already there with their only water bottle in hand. Bradley was going from bad to worse. His skin had turned pale and his lips were turning blue. His breathing was labored and the bite had bled through the hoody that was serving as an improvised dressing.

"How are you feeling mate?" asked Fred.

"Not good," wheezed Brad. Fhajad looked over at him.

"We can't move him anymore." He said, "We need to get help."

"Right." Said Fred. "You stay here and take care of him. I'll go get help."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Fhajad, "You might not be able to find us again." It was a reasonable point. Fred had a quick look around, briefly moving away from the group to get an alternative view of the surrounding area. He spotted something sticking up above the tree line. He moved back to Fhajad and Brad.

"There's some kind of stone tower over there." He said, gesturing towards the general area of the point. "I can work back here from there."

"Ok." Said Fhajad. "Be careful." Fred flashed his signature grin.

"Hey. It's me."

Before Fhajad could reply, Fred was moving off deeper into the forest. He walked in the direction of the thing he'd spotted above the tree line, taking note of various terrain features so he could find his way back. After a minute of walking, he came to the edge of the forest. He looked over a large grassy meadow, with a paved road going through it with another curving off. In the center of the meadow, atop a small mound was a large square pillar.

' _An obelisk_ 'Fred recalled, remembering the name from a history project on ancient Egypt. As to what one was doing in the middle of North West England he didn't know or care. What he cared about most, was what was beyond it; a large mansion like building with large black gates, and four black clothed men standing by it. There was only one thing stopping Fred from rushing to them for help, was the large amount of people who were moving towards the gate.

These people moved just like the ones who'd attacked Brad; clumsy and slow.

Fred kept quiet, trying to avoid being heard by any of the people that were moving in on the gate. There were too many to count, but they were spread over a large area. No way he could get through them to the people by the gate without being detected.

The sound of an approaching car made Fred look over to the right. A large black pick up was coming down the road towards the gate, in the back were 4 or 5 men dressed in black, armed with guns. Fred stood up and ran towards the road, waving his arms out and calling for help. The pickup skidded to a stop and one of the people on the back jumped off.

"Look mate I need..." Fred was cut short by the man raising his gun on him. "Whoa! Don't shoot! Don't..."

The man fired his rifle twice. Fred was silent for a second, before looking down at his body. No blood. He looked down his body and felt himself for bullet holes. Finding none he looked back at the man, then behind him. There was one of them on the ground dead. Fred let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"You ok kid?" asked the man.

"Y... Yeah." Said Fred. "Listen my friends are out in the woods and one's hurt real bad..."

"He bit?" asked another man from the back of the pickup.

"Bit? Yeah. He's not doing good..."

"He's as good as dead kid." Said the first man. "Get in and lets go."

"But... my other friend is with him. He's not bit." The first man looked back at the pickup for a second before turning back to Fred.

"Show me." He said. Fred turned and started jogging back towards the forest, the armed man following.

"So how'd you find this place?" asked the man.

"We were playing footy when this guy attacked us." Replied Fred. "After Brad got hurt, we called 999, but it couldn't get through."

"Shit like that's happening all over." Said the man. "I never got your name."

"Fred. You?"

"Martin. What's your friends names?"

"Brad. He's the sick one. And Fhajad." They came through the trees to where Brad and Fhajad were. Brad was still, his eyes closed and not moving, Fhajad was sitting on a rock nearby, keeping watch.

"He fell unconscious," he glanced at his watch, "3 minutes ago. I tried to keep him awake but he slipped under. Who's he?"

"Martin, Fhajad. Fhajad, Martin." Fred introduced. He looked away from Brad and looked back at Martin.

"Anything you can..." He was interrupted by the report of Martin's rifle discharging a round into Brad's forehead.

"DUDE! What the hell?!" shouted Fhajad. Fred dived at the man furious only for the man to catch him and toss him aside.

"Look kids." He said straight, "There was nothing we could have done for him. We've already seen the bitten turn, even if we gave him something he was still fucked. That was the only mercy left for him." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in.

"Look. This is the Duke's place and were about to evacuate him and his family to Chester. I can probably find you a seat in the truck if you want it."

Fred and Fhajad looked at each other. They both wore expressions with a mix of disgust, sorrow and anger. Fred looked back at Martin with a look of pure hate.

"Not like we've got anywhere else to go." He said incredulously.

"Alright then." Said Martin. "Come on. Before any more of them show up." Martin started walking back. Fred and Fhajad shared a look, before they started following.

* * *

 **Jason**

 **Chester City walls  
Bridge Gate**

 **14:22**

Jason rolled his shoulders for what seemed like the first time in hours, his bones emitting a satisfying _click_. He and the rest of fireteam Bravo were stationed on the city walls, covering the bridge from above while the police did their work below.

When they'd got here they'd been greeted by a police Sergeant in riot gear along with a dozen similarly clad officers. They were manning a checkpoint under the cover of the gate, made up of a wire fence and 2 tents in which people were being checked for bites before being admitted inside. The Sergeant had posted them on the wall, unsure where to place the armed teenagers

Over the last few hours, there had been a steady line mass of people coming in, none of them had shown, but there had been a few people who had tried to force their way in. The police had handled them. Now though, the people had all but stopped coming, which in Jason's mind left 2 possibilities;

Everyone from the surrounding area had gone to other refugee areas or was inside.

Or, more worryingly;

Everyone who had come in was all that was left.

Jason's thoughts on the matter were interrupted by his radio crackling.

" _Mike-Zero-Seven- Bravo, this is Zero. Radio Check. Over."_ Jason clicked radio's transmit button and replied,

"Hello Zero, this is Mike-Zero-Seven- Bravo. Loud Clear. Over."

" _Mike-Zero-Seven- Bravo, this is Zero. Report to ops for re-tasking over."_

"Hello Zero, this is Mike-Zero-Seven- Bravo. Rog', WILCO. Out." Jason killed the radio and called out;

"Bravo! Let's Rock and Roll!"

Ethan and Nathan started descend to street level, Naomi hesitated.

"Today Dyer!" called Jason. Naomi huffed and started walking, still a way behind the rest. The walk to the ops area took them through the city center's streets.

The shops and restaurants that lined the streets were open, but not in their normal capacity. They were open as refugee centers. Refugees were sitting in their doorways seeking whatever shelter wherever they could. Some of the restaurants were even cooking and serving food for their desperate patrons. But everywhere they looked, each member of Bravo got the same looks of fear, anger and hatred.

"What did we do to them?" whispered Nathan.

"Nothing." Said Naomi, positively booming compared to Nathan's whisper. "They're all just sad, pathetic people."

"Maybe you'd be the same if you'd lost everything and weren't in a position of power." Jason shot back at Naomi. "Now do me a favour and shut up Dyer."

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. The building that was being used as the military HQ for Chester was, fittingly enough, Chester Castle which housed within it, the military museum of the Cheshire Regiment. They came to the door and were stopped by a sentry.

"Wait here." Jason told his team as he went inside with the sentry. After clarifying his business at the military command post for the ongoing crisis, the sentry ordered him to follow a civilian aid who was presumably someone who worked at the museum. He was lead up a flight of stairs to a carpeted corridor which, while free of refugees, was full of soldiers and civilian aids ferrying equipment and furniture between the museums administrative offices. The aid lead Jason to a closed door with a blind covered window and a brass plaque with the words _'regimental historian_ _'_ engraved on it. Jason knocked at the door.

"Enter." Said a voice from inside. Jason opened the door and stepped into the office. As well as Squadron Leader Marsden, the room was occupied by a trio of teenage cadets, 2 Sergeants and a Corporal. One of the Sergeants and the Corporal were army cadets, discerned by their green berets and the 2 headed eagle of the Mercian regiment. The final Sergeant was a tough as nails looking female Royal Marine Cadet. They all looked at the Jason, Jason glanced back at them, giving them the subtlest of nods before coming to attention and saluting Marsden who sat behind the office desk.

"Glad you could join us Corporal Rees." Said Marsden. He motioned to the other cadet NCO's in the room. "This is Sergeant Birch and Corporal Moore, Army cadets. Sergeant Hawkins, Royal Marine cadets."

"Pleasure." Said Birch raising a hand to Jason.

"Likewise." He said, shaking the offered hand. He did the same for the other NCO's before Marsden interrupted.

"Now that we've got the pleasantries done, we've got business to do." The cadets focused on Marsden as he continued.

"Over the last few hours, we've more or less picked up the majority of the refugees from this area. Other camps in the Chester area are reporting that the number of help seekers has begun to dry up too and we've realised, it's far too few to make up the majority of the population of the area."

"How many are we talking sir?" asked Moore, scribbling notes on a small notepad.

"We've picked up about 2000 people, Blacon have about 1500 and Broughton about the same." Replied Marsden. Jason did the maths and quickly came to a horrifying conclusion.

"Sir," he said, "There are about 100,000 people living in Chester. Are you saying we've only accounted for about 5% of the local population?"

"That's exactly it Corporal." Said Marsden. "Even discounting people who work out of town or are away, we're still missing a lot of people."

"And you want us to go and find them." Guessed Hawkins.

"I was getting to that Sergeant but yes." Said Marsden, "You 4 are going to be leading your fireteams on recce missions into the surrounding residential areas. If you find civilians, bring them back. Any other threats you are free to deal with as you see fit. Birch, you've got Vickers Cross. Moore, you've got Hoole. Hawkins, Handbridge, Rees, you've got Lache. Search as long as you can but be back within the walls by 18:00. Any questions?"

"Sir." Said Moore, "Why are they sending us and not the police or regular army?"

"All police units are protecting and maintaining order in the local refugee camps. Military units are either doing the same at other camps or protecting vital infrastructure. So you're it. That a problem?"

"No sir."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Sir." Jason spoke up. "I have some troubles regarding my team. Particularly with Dyer and Joyce."

"What about them?"

"Dyer follows orders hesitantly and reluctantly, and answers back at every opportunity she gets. If it hits the fan I see her being more of a liability than an asset. Joyce... he's a great cadet and I trust him sir, but he's only just turned 13. I'm worried that he won't be able to keep up physically, and what putting down an infected would do to him."

Marsden considered this for a moment before replying.

"I understand your concerns Corporal, but we haven't got time to adjust the teams. You're team and orders stand."

"Sir." Acknowledged Jason.

"Anything else?" Marsden asked,

The NCO's remained silent.

"Well then good luck. Dismissed."

The NCO's saluted and left the room one after another. He wasn't sure about the others, but Jason had a definite bad feeling about this one.

...

After rallying, briefing and distributing group kit, Jason and the rest of Bravo along with Sergeant Hawkins and her fire team of Marine cadets departed through the bridge gate, and crossed the bridge into Handbridge. The fire teams separated when they reached a fork in the road, with Jason and Bravo heading for Lache and Hawkings and her delta fire team continuing to sweep Handbridge for survivors.

Bravo moved through the streets, keeping a diamond formation and their eyes and ears open for any signs of life. The streets were eerily quiet. As Bravo exited Handbridge and crossed a roundabout into their search area, the only thing of note was a series of assorted abandoned cars, and the eerie quiet that settled over the area.

"This place is giving me the creeps." said Ethan, looking up and down the line of seemingly abandoned houses.

"Tell me about it." agreed Nathan, looking along the opposite side of the street.

"Stay sharp." Reaffirmed Jason, keeping his L98 ready in his shoulder. As they looked up and down the line of houses, Jason couldn't help but shake the feeling that they were being watched.

"Contact." announced Nathan. "That house there, top floor, left window." They all looked at the indicated house and window, there was nothing there.

"There's no one there." remarked Dyer patronisingly.

"I saw someone." Nathan explained to the group, "Looked like a kid."

"Alright," said Jason, "Let's investigate. Stevenson and Dyer, set security. Joyce, on me." Dyer and Stevenson moved around to watch the street while Nathan and Jason went to investigate.

The house was a normal two storey detached house with a tile roof and a baby yellow paint job. The 2 armed teenagers walked up the front door, keeping an eye on the ground floor window as they moved down the front garden path. Jason rapped his knuckles on the door.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called out, "Royal Air Force we're not going to hurt you." They waited for a short while before Jason suggested Stevenson try the back door. He nodded and followed the path that branched off around the house and into the back. He returned a few moments later,

"Locked up tight. No sign of forced entry." He reported.

"Alright." Said Jason, "We'll try again on the way back. Let's move out."

"Shouldn't we try to get inside?" argued Stevenson.

"We're not at the stage of kicking in doors. At least not yet." said Jason. "We'll try again later and report it to command when we get back. Now let's roll."

The cadets started off again, moving through Lache street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood. The silence that had been over the area all day still reigned over them, and Jason didn't like it, or the absence of people or infected.

They rounded a corner and came to local shopping complex, made up of a set of shops with a carpark in front of it. Abandoned in the car park was a local police car, its door open and lights still flashing. As they got closer, something seemed off.

"Stevenson, Dyer. Search that car." ordered Jason, "Joyce with me, we'll search the shops." Stevenson went to his work on the car while Joyce and Jason headed for the nearby mini-super marker.

"What exactly are we looking for?" asked Dyer with attitude. Jason stopped and looked back. He was fed up of Dyer and her attitude.

"Anything that might tell us where everybody is? Where the police are? Anything." he said. Dyer skulked off back towards the car while Jason turned to catch up with Joyce who'd already moved into the shop. The interior of the shop was as expected; abandoned. The shelves had been picked clean of canned and savoury items and even perishables such as fruit were nearly all gone. There was no sign of the shopkeeper or anyone else.

"Corporal." called Joyce, "Got something."

Jason moved toward the back of the store where Joyce had called from. He found him crouching on the floor by a closed door marked 'staff only'.

"Blood trail." he said, motioning to what he was crouched over on the floor, "And it's fresh." Jason looked at the still wettish blood trail, it lead through the door.

"Right." said Jason, "Fix your bayonet, and follow me."

"You sure?" asked Joyce as he reached for his bayonet. Jason instead slung his rifle and drew the Glock from his holster.

"Close quarters." he replied, "Might be wounded, might be infected. Better safe than sorry." Joyce nodded and fixed the bayonet to his rifle's barrel.

Jason then motioned for Joyce to get behind him. Once his subordinate was ready behind him, he unlocked the door and moved through in one smooth movement, Joyce obediently following. They followed the blood trail through a storeroom before coming to a staircase up. They followed the trail up and to a door marked as offices. Jason tried the door to find it locked. He motioned for Joyce to back up a bit. Once he had done, Jason took a few quick breaths, then kicked the door just next to the lock. The door swung open, its lock no longer part of its structure.

They moved into the room; and found what they were looking for. Propped up against a wall under a window was the body of a plump, middle aged man in a blood stained light blue shirt and tie with a pair of business trousers. His name tag read ' _Norman: general manager_ '. The blood trail stopped with him.

"Looks like we found our bleeder." said Jason, keeping his gun trained on the body as he looked around closer at the bite mark on the man's left shoulder. The wound stank, but was still fresh enough that the blood hadn't fully clotted.

 _'Why hasn't he turned yet?'_ thought Jason. _'And where is the one who bit him?'_ He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He saw over to see Joyce going through a door adjacent to the office. Jason's eyes went wide,

"Joyce! NO!" he shouted.

Too late.

Before the Young cadet could do anything, the infected was upon him, its larger form collapsing onto Joyce before he could react to the new threat. He tried to push the infected off him as the infected's jaws clamped down into Joyce's neck. He screamed as the infected bit into him and blood squirted out of the wound. Jason's Glock was up in a flash, and a single round popped the infected's head open like a balloon, showering blood and brain matter all over Joyce and the surrounding area.

Jason ran to his cadet's side. Pushing the infected corpse away as he clamped his hands onto Joyce's neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Just hang on mate." Jason said while trying to formulate a plan.

"B...Behind you..." Joyce managed to say through the pain. It took a moment for Jason to work out what he was on about, then it hit him. The other body! He looked back to see 'Norman' was getting up, with the same blanked out look as the infected police officer and the one that had bitten Joyce. Jason grabbed the Glock from where it had landed on the floor and he spun round, firing 2 shots from the knee into the infected's head. It dropped back dead, missing most of its face and head.

"Thanks mate." he said, reapplying pressure to the still gushing wound. "I'm gonna get you out of here." He was lying. When the infected had bitten into his neck, he'd torn open Joyce's carotid Artery, he'd bleed out fast and there was nothing he could do. Joyce took one last look at Jason.

"It... s been... a pleasure... Corporal..." he uttered his last words as he collapsed into unconsciousness in Jason's arms.

"Joyce! JOYCE!"

He was gone.

Jason stood up. He reached up to his radio and clicked the transmission button.

"Hello Zero, this is Mike-Zero-Seven-Bravo. Man down. I say again, Man down. Times one cadet KIA. Please advise. Over."

There was a short pause, before the response came back.

 _"Hello Mike-Zero-Seven- Bravo, this is Zero. Roger. Wait out."_

This time the pause was longer. Jason could almost see the radio operator running to Marsden to tell him the news, that one of his cadets was dead. After a bittersweet moment, the response came. There was a edge of sympathy in the radio operators voice as he spoke.

 _"Mike-Zero-Seven- Bravo, this is Zero. You are to ensure the cadet does not turn, recover what kit you can, and return to base. Do you understand? Over."_

"Zero, this is Mike-Zero-Seven-Bravo. Roger. WILCO. Out." Jason hung up on the radio. He then sighed.

"Corporal." said a voice. Jason looked up. Stevenson and Dyer were stood in the doorway, shocked looks on their face and their skin paler than normal. Stevenson stammered,

"We heard gunshots and shouting and we came running..."

"Joyce is dead." deadpanned Jason. "Infected got him. Our orders are to prevent him turning, recover his kit and head back. Can we use that police car?"

"No keys, otherwise it's good." replied Stevenson.

"Ok. Wait outside for me." said Jason as he levelled his Glock at Joyce's head. "I won't be a minute."

"Wait!" Shouted Dyer, she stalked up to Jason and continued shouting. "You can't just shoot him! Who says he's even dead? Who says he's going to turn? And what gives you the right..."

Jason had had enough.

"CADET DYER!" he shouted, she recoiled as he continued with venom in his voice. "Cadet Joyce bled out in my arms having been bitten by that infected. It is now _my_ duty to ensure that he does not reanimate and try to kill you, me, Stevenson or anyone else. Now I have given you an order to wait outside, so get out of my sight before I throw you out."

Dyer looked at Jason. All the sass, attitude and disobedience had drained from her in the face of Jason's dressing down. She simply came to attention and replied

"Yes Corporal," before walking out. Stevenson waited a moment in the doorway before nodding and going after her. Jason waited a moment after they left, before he levelled his pistol at Joyce's corpse, and fired.

...

The march back to Chester was made in virtual silence with Jason occasionally giving orders to change formation, but aside from that no one felt like talking. It took a while to convince the gate guards that the blood that stained Jason's uniform was not his and he had not in fact been bitten, but once it was sorted they were permitted entry. They were met by Squadron Leader Marsden.

"Bravo." he said.

"Sir." replied Jason, still in regretting the loss of Joyce. Marsden sighed, but understood.

"You're all stood down for the rest of the day. The cadets are being billeted in the abode hotel for the night. Get yourselves settled in. Clean your kit and shower, dinner is in the hotel's restaurant at 1900 hours followed by an evening debrief. Corporal may I have a word? The rest of you are dismissed."

Dyer and Stevenson left but Jason remained as ordered.

"A rather rough day of it then." said Marsden.

"You could say that sir." replied Jones, not sure what else to say. Marsden sighed again.

"Joyce was a good cadet Rees." He stated. "I'm sure you did what you could for him. I'll need an initial incident report by close of play today and a full report in a few days' time. We've established a stores and armoury in the museum's store rooms, get Joyce's kit cleaned and returned."

"You'll have it on your desk by 18:00 sir." promised Jason. He wanted nothing more to be on his own for a bit. Marsden put a reassuring hand on the teenagers shoulder.

"It's never easy Rees. Loosing someone. While it is unacceptable to waste lives, it is acceptable to spend them."

"What was Joyce sir?" asked Jason, looking his CO in the eye, "A life spent? Or a life wasted?"

Marsden saluted the young soldier briefly before he turned and left, but did not answer.

* * *

 **Abode Hotel  
Chester safe zone**

 **22:00**

Jason lay in bed staring at the ceiling. It'd been, to put it mildly, a hell of a day.

The world had come to an abrupt and bloody end. 24 hours ago he had been a regular teenager with regular problems such as homework deadlines. Now he was a soldier in the defence of his hometown and its populace, or what was left of it. On top of that he had lost a cadet under his charge to the infected, for which he felt there was no one to blame but himself. Finally, and probably worst of all, his fire team no longer existed.

Stevenson had been transferred to an army cadet fire team to make up numbers, and Dyer had, not only requested a transfer, but also filed a formal complaint against him based on the dressing down he'd given her in the field. Jason knew he had been totally within his rights to do so; she had been repeatedly disobedient and in some cases straight up rude to her OIC. And even if they pressed the issue on harshness grounds, he could claim the situation had her stressed, as he'd just had a cadet die in his arms. So while the complaint wouldn't get anywhere, it had made a bad day even worse.

Jason decided he needed a drink.

The mini-bar in the hotel room he'd been billeted in had been removed. But because Jason was over 18, he could go out. He retrieved his ID and wallet and stuffed them into the trouser pocket of the fatigues he just couldn't be bothered to change out of. He also made sure that the Glock and its holster were still strapped to his thigh. Even if he didn't need it, he felt better for having it.

He left his room and walked out of the hotel reception, no one bothered to challenge him on where he was going. He made his way through the darkened streets of Chester. There was a curfew and noise discipline in effect, so no noise outside after 21:00 and no one outside by 23:00. In the distance, Jason could hear the distinctive cracks of gunfire, soldiers on the ancient Roman city walls firing at infected who had been foolish enough to wander into their sights.

Jason kept walking until he found himself at coming up on Mikie's, one of the most popular student bars in town. There was no bouncer on the door so he went right in. The place was nearly empty and there was no music playing, a stark contrast as to how the place normally was when Jason came here on nights out. He took a seat at the bar next to a patron in a lab coat. The barman came up to him;

"Double vodka and Coke." Jason requested.

"Hey look man," started the barman, "I'm gonna need to see some ID..."

In one swift movement, Jason pulled his Glock out and placed it on the bar, before pulling his ID out of his wallet and handing it to the barman, who checked it and handed it back before going to fulfil his order.

"Rough day?" asked a female voice. It was the patron in the lab coat next to him. She was about Jason's age, with auburn brown hair tied up in a high ponytail, dark green eyes and a cute face.

"You could say that." replied Jason, taking note of the multiple empty glasses in front of her. "You?"

The girl shrugged. "I spent all day tending to wounded, crying, desperate people with a few even dying on my watch. How about you?"

The barman returned with his drink and Jason thanked him before taking a deep slug of it. "I spent the day covering civilians coming in, then I lead a patrol beyond the wall to search for survivors during which the youngest member of my team got bit and bled out in my arms before I had to blow his brains out to make sure he didn't reanimate."

The girl nodded before raising her glass.

"Here's to shitty days." she said. Jason smiled for the first time in hours. He knocked his glass against hers,

"Here here," he said. They both then necked the remaining contents of their glasses.

"I didn't catch your name?"

"Alex Vera. And you?"

"Jason. Jason Rees."

* * *

 **Here's chapter 2: things are starting to get moving and will continue on for a while.**

 **for any readers of my current girls und panzer story... basically, I've lost my enthusiasm for GuP at the moment. The upcoming movie will resolve this issue by giving me some new st. Gloriana canon to work with and manipulate to my maniacal means but basically consider Anarchy in the UK on hold until the movie release.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter and special thanks to my beta readers, Draco38 and the other Horsemen of the dead. Who have been providing great encouragement throughout**

 **Anyway, chapter 3 is in the works, no idea when it'll be out...**

 **Bye!**

 **J**


	3. Chapter 3

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

Chapter 3: A Brave new world

 **Marsden**

 **Chester Town hall** **  
** **Chester Safezone**

 **Zday +6** **  
** **08:50**

Marsden walked through the corridors with a purpose.

It'd been 6 days since the corpses started rising and 2 since the power grid had failed and all communication with London, the military, with anyone had failed. The last orders from the Ministry of Defense was for the leaders of the Chester safe zone to do whatever they deemed necessary to ensure the safety and future of the citizens within. To that end, Marsden had been appointed by the mayor to a council of advisers that would advise her on various matters, specifically military ones in his case.

He turned a corner in the corridor and stopped at a large wooden door guarded by 2 armed police officers. They checked Marsden's ID before allowing him into the meeting room.

The meeting room was a large, oak paneled room with a soft red carpet and paintings of various local figures hanging from the wall. In the corner was a table with luxuries such as biscuits and jugs of water and squash, accompanied by a stack of plastic cups. In the center of the room was a large round table with 6 chairs around it, each occupied by the head of each major department within the ruling council.

Seated at the head of the round table was Leader of the Council Charlotte Reva. She was a middle aged woman who had held her office for the last 2 years and had been a favorite to win the next election for her office. Next to her was Chief inspector Cook who was a striking man with greying hair the contrasted with his policeman's dress uniform. He had a reputation as a man who would do what needed to be done, even if certain people disagreed.

Next to him was Marsden's empty space and next to that sat Mr. Clayton. Mr. Clayton of Clayton and Co building contractors was a middle aged man with a belly that hung over his belt and jeans, but also boasted muscles that would give Royal Marines a run for their money. He and his men had been responsible for putting up and reinforcing the large metal gates that now stood in the wall's gateways and were also in charge of designing and building special projects for the city.

The last person at the table was Mrs. Bell. Mrs. Bell had been a civil servant before the fall and was now head of admin, supply and rationing for the city. While the military sections managed their own supplies and rationing (something which infuriated Mrs. Bell to no end), she was responsible for the civil end, and of all the people in the room, probably wielded the most power over the civilian population.

"So good of you to join us Squadron Leader." said Mrs. Bell said. Her smile was indicative of her distain for the man.

"I apologize, but I had some matters regarding an incident on the wall last night to attend to." He said.

"Nothing serious I hope?" queried Mr. Clayton.

"One of the cadets guarding a section of the wall thought he saw someone beyond the wall and started shooting at shadows." said Marsden, "He was slightly shaken up but has been returned to duty."

"Anyway." began Reva, to cut off Mrs. Bell's building rant. "We have much to discuss." She turned to Marsden.

"What is the status of our defenses?"

"The walls are secure ma'am," Replied Marsden. "For now."

"For now?" queried Mr. Clayton, "There are no holes in the walls. Me and my boys saw to that." Marsden nodded,

"This is true," he said, "and your men did a good job, the gates are holding and barricades you've put up are keeping the other holes plugged. The problem is with the weapons, or lack thereof to equip the soldiers guarding the walls."

"Soldiers?" scoffed Mrs. Bell, "You mean children." Marsden glared at her,

"Those _children,_ as you've called them ma'am, have been through hell over the last few days. They have all lost family friends; some have even lost their lives. They have earned my respect and yours."

Mrs. Bell was about to erupt again when Chief inspector Cook cut in.

"How short are you on weapons?" He asked.

"Put it this way." said Marsden. "We have 122 active military personnel, including cadets and the 12 soldiers that came here. To go around them we have only 26 firearms. Ammunition is going to be a worry before long too. Therefore I wish to mount an expedition to recover weapons and ammo from the Dale barracks, shooting clubs and other sights where firearms can be acquired."

"I wouldn't recommend it councilor." Mrs. Bell announced imperiously. "We have other, more important priorities. Such as repairing the local power grid and scavenging for supplies."

"Something else that could be better accomplished with an armed escort." pointed out Cook, who continued despite the death glare Mrs. Bell shot at him. "Currently the police have about 30 officers and only a handful of firearms to go around, not enough to properly defend the walls without the military. More people with guns would make it safer for anyone going beyond the walls to get supplies."

"True enough." said Mr. Clayton, voicing his own opinion on the matter. "My lads would feel a lot better with an armed escort when we have to go out. If we have that it'll make getting the power grid back online a lot easier."

Reva considered the argument.

"Alright Squadron Leader." she said. "You have my permission to go and scavenge more firearms. However I have concerns with your cadets. Most of them are only teenagers; can we really trust them with guns?"

"Roughly half of them are qualified on rifles and have been taught by the professional forces." explained Marsden. "The remaining half are, for the most part, assigned to auxiliary duties such as managing supplies and the such. I do however want to get them trained up as well so the ones who are qualified can have some downtime. Those who are qualified have already proved themselves as being capable of doing what they need to safely. So to answer your question, yes. We can trust them with firearms."

Reva looked at him, then nodded.

"That may well be." Said Mrs. Bell. "But I've heard some rumors from some of my staff. There seems to be a consensus amongst the civilians. They aren't happy with us forcing 'child soldiers' to fight. And I for one agree."

"They aren't being forced to do anything," argued Marsden.

"Really?" asked Mrs. Bell, "Then what do you do if they disobey an order? I heard that one cadet who disobeyed an NCO in the field was shouted at and then dismissed from duty when she filed a complaint against the afore mentioned NCO."

Marsden frowned. Evidently Cadet Dyer had not taken her dismissal from active duty well.

"Cadet Dyer was a problem cadet. The NCO in question, Corporal Rees, gave a justified dressing down of her when she failed to comply with his orders, which as an NCO he is entitled to give. Specifically, at the incident in question Rees was in the process of preventing a cadet who had been bitten and died in his arms from reanimating, and Dyer refused to leave as Rees had ordered. And besides, do you really think it would have done a 14 year old girl any good to watch another cadet having his brains blown out?"

Mrs. Bell remained silent and Reva spoke up.

"You have a point Squadron Leader." She said, "But I am still concerned about out use of cadets, teenagers to fight."

"Then may I suggest we limit the cadets who go outside the walls on missions to volunteers over the age of 16?" suggested Cook.

"That would drastically reduce the number of cadets that can go on missions." Argued Marsden.

"But it would alleviate some of the problems the civilians are having." Said Cook. "It the best thing for the foreseeable." Marsden, reluctantly agreed.

"Very well. It is decided" Said Reva "So what other matters do we have to discuss?"

...

After the meeting, Marsden returned to the castle. Standing post outside his office was Cadet Jackson. Upon sighting the officer, the heavy set cadet snapped to attention and saluted Marsden. Marsden saluted as he passed and entered the office.

"Tea sir?" asked Jackson. Marsden huffed as he sat down in his chair. He might not have been the best fighter, but Jackson was a hell of an aid, made a decent brew as well.

"Please." Marsden replied, "Milk, One sugar."

"Yes sir." Said Jackson, he turned to leave before he paused, "Also sir. Corporal Rees said he wanted to see you about something."

"Alright where is he?"

"Down in the armory sir. I'll go get him." Jackson then left the office and set about his work. Marsden sat in his desk. Since the incident with Cadet Joyce, Corporal Rees had been taking on every duty he could, perimeter patrol, supply inventory, weapons maintenance, anything he could do since the council had put a hold on all movements beyond the walls for the cadets after day 1 of the outbreak. After a minute, Rees walked through the doorway into Marsden's office. He snapped to attention and tossed a salute.

"Sir." He said. Marsden looked him up and down. While his uniform was neatly pressed and ironed, but it was clear around the cuffs that it had been in use a lot over the last few days. Rees also had on his face a slight shadow of brown hair, betraying the fact he hadn't shaved in the last few days. It was a common problem in the city as shaving materials were just one of the things that were beginning to run out despite rationing.

"At ease Corporal." Said Marsden, Jason relaxed slightly. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Sir," he said "I and a number of other cadets, would like to know when we will be resuming search and rescue efforts and other missions beyond the perimeter."

Marsden sighed. He understood why the cadets wanted to keep looking for survivors, many still had family missing, including him.

"Corporal, for now all operations are on a hold." Said Marsden. Rees opened his mouth to protest but Marsden cut him off. "As much as I'd like to go after anyone out there we have to focus on maintaining what we have first. And that starts with guns." Rees suddenly refocused, and Marsden could have sworn he saw a twitch of a smile.

"I'm sure it has not escaped your notice that we're short on rifles and firearms."

"It hadn't sir." Replied Rees with a smile. "In fact I've been going through the museum's store rooms to find any that haven't been deactivated."

"Did you?"

"One AK that's still active and an old trench gun. That's it, unless you want to start using rifles with bayonet's as spears." Marsden chuckled at the idea,

"Well that's why we've been given permission to mount a scavenging op to the Dale barracks. Despite most of the Royal Welsh being deployed the armory and magazine should still be pretty well stocked."

"I volunteer to go on this mission sir." Announced Rees snapping to attention. "And I have a further suggestion."

"Shoot." Rees settled back to an at ease position.

"Sir. I've been speaking with some of the civvies. Some of my colleagues from school and such made it. Some of them, as well as some adults are keen to get more involved in the defense of the city, scavenging, search and rescue. If we're going to start recruiting, or even operate for an extended period of time we're going to need boots, uniforms, webbing etc. The stores at Dale should have everything we need to outfit and train new recruits." Marsden nodded.

"Corporal, were you a salesman before all this?" Rees snickered,

"No sir. 6th form student."

"Alright then. I'll consider your proposal. For now standby for further information. Dismissed." Rees snapped to attention and saluted before walking out.

"And Corporal," he put his head around the door-frame. "Get to sharpening those bayonets."

* * *

 **Jason**

 **1 ½ miles outside Chester safe zone  
Z-day + 6**

 **07:00**

They'd been up since before dawn. After breakfast rations in the small ours, the 12 selected cadet volunteers and 4 soldiers from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers who would lead the mission had piled into 2 Land Rovers and 4 vans and headed out for Dale Barracks.

Jason rode in the lead Land Rover along with the rest of fireteam Alpha. Fireteam Alpha now consisted of himself; Cadet Martel, a tough looking 16 year old army cadet, Able Cadet Wheatcroft, a female cadet from the Sea cadets and finally Sergeant Sale from the Royal Welsh. Their objective was the base Armory and magazine. Bravo's was the base stores. Charlie got the fuel dump. Delta would stay and guard the vehicles.

Martel had been trying to strike up a conversation with Wheatcroft the entire trip, without much luck.

"So, have you ever been to the Dale or fox barracks?" he asked.

"No." she said. She'd been sticking to one word answers almost the entire trip. Jason just shook his head in the passenger seat as he released the action forward on his L98, the action cycling with a satisfying _Clack._

"So how come we're not hitting Fox Barracks as well?" asked Jason.

"Not enough time today." Replied Sergeant Sale as he drove the Land Rover on. "Trust me. There are still enough weapons and ammo in there to fight World War 3."

"And I'm guessing a pretty wide range of guns too?" ventured Martel hopefully. While Jason wasn't going to ask, he was looking forward to letting out his inner gun nut. Sale snorted approvingly,

"If the British army uses it, it'll be there." He said. Martel cheered triumphantly while Jason and Wheatcroft both smiled devilishly. Out of everyone, they had the best job on this op.

"Alright guys eyes on. Were coming up on the base. Corporal alert the convoy"

"Rog'." Replied Jason as he picked up the speaker of the Land Rover's radio. "Convoy Black, Convoy Black. This is Romeo One. We're entering the target now. Eye's on. Out." He turned once more to Martel and Wheatcroft. "Lock and load."

"Did you really just say that?" asked Martel humorously. Jason snorted.

"Shut up." He replied as he cocked his Glock. The convoy followed the road, exiting on a roundabout towards the base. On their right was Fox Barracks, the attached TA and Army cadet base. There were several dozen infected behind the chain link fence. In the back, Jason could hear Martel growl slightly. On their left was military base housing, dozens of identical yellow brick, semi detached houses. All abandoned. The convoy followed the road round past a sports pavilion and a sports field, occupied by tents.

"Military set up an aid post." Said Sale. "Was overrun on day 2."

"You were here?" asked Wheatcroft.

"Yeah…" replied Sale, trailing off. "Alright. We're here."

The convoy came to a stop in front of the double chain link fence that acted as the main gate onto the base. It was locked up tight, and a few infected in the surrounding area, who were now moving in on the stationary convoy.

"Alright. Martel bust the lock and get the gate open. Wheatcroft and Rees. Hold 'em off."

"Yes Sergeant!" they all replied. They immediately jumped out of the Land Rover, Martel moving towards the gate while Wheatcroft and Jason moved onto the flanks. There were 6 infected, 6 targets in front of Jason. He raised his L98 and flicked the safety off, he trained on one and squeezed the trigger.

 _Ka-pow! Ka-pow!_ One down. Next target. _Ka-pow! Ka-pow! Ka-pow!_ The linty of gunfire continued around them until the one's in their immediate vicinity were down. But more were starting to appear out of the aid camp ruins.

"Clear!" shouted Jason, "But the noise is attracting them! Get a move on Martel!"

"Got it!" shouted Martel as he finally unlocked the gate and wheeled it open, allowing the convoy through. As the last of the trucks moved through, Jason and Wheatcroft doubled it through, spinning back round to cover while Martel closed the gate, sealing them off from the infected horde that was massing from the camp.

"Alright." Said Jason, turning to Martel. "That secure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Back in the Land Rover." They doubled in and climbed back into the waiting vehicle. Jason nodded to Sale who then picked up the radio.

"All fireteams." He said, "The word is given. Good Hunting. Out." He then shifted the Land Rover into gear and started down the base's internal roads. They passed barracks buildings, administrative centers and other base facilities. They passed a few infected, but not as many as they'd expected for a large military base. Sale pulled the Land Rover up outside a single storie, redbrick building that looked, to the untrained eye, like any other building on the base. But small things gave it away; the windows were grayed, there were air vents on the flat roof indicative of an extensive ventilation system, and finally, the double doors were beefier looking than ones on the other buildings with no markings on the doors.

"Alright. Let's go." Said Sale as he killed the engine.

They dismounted, and Sale popped the bonnet, removing a wire so the Land Rover couldn't be taken while they were inside. While he did that, Martel retrieved and handed out duffel bags to be packed with weapons and ammo. They advanced, covering all angles of approach. Sergeant Sale went in first, Jason close behind. Behind the doors was a small atrium with an office, before a large pair of armored red doors. Sale went into the office before returning a moment later with several sets of keys. He unlocked the red door and quickly checked it before returning and summoning Martel and Wheatcroft inside. Once inside, they closed the front door and locked behind them.

"Alright guys." Said Sale, handing each of the cadets a set of keys. "These keys will open up the Armory cells and the weapon lockers inside. We need Pistols, Assault Rifles, Marksman and sniper rifles as well as Shotguns. Stick to 9mm, 5.56, 7.62 and 12 gauge. Pack your bags and put them in the hall outside your cell. Just remember there may be more down there than guns and ammo. Now then," he flashed a smile "Happy hunting."

The Cadets immediately moved through the armored red doors, smiles on their faces. Behind the doors was a corridor with 4 armored doors on each side and a staircase down at the other end. Each cadet and Sale took a cell, Jason taking the 3rd one down on the right. He unlocked the armored door and moved in, Glock in hand. The cell walls were made of grey cinderblocks, with grey weapon lockers lining them, with additional rows forming aisles that soldiers could go 'shopping' for weapons. Jason moved to the first locker and unlocked it. He was greeted by racks of ready to use L85A2 rifles. He started cramming rifles into his duffel bags. Once all the rifles were in he emptied the locker of spare magazines until the bag was full. He put it in the hallway and moved to the next locker.

…

Jason hefted his 8th Duffel out into the hallway outside his cell. He'd just filled the last one with L86A2 Light Support Weapons and Bellini M4 combat Shotguns, along with plenty of ammo. He'd nearly finished clearing out his cell's weapon lockers. Some had been full to the brim with weapons and ammo along with cleaning kits etc. Others had been depleted and a few completely empty. But thus far it was a good haul. He glanced down at his watch, 09:55. They'd be stopping for a break soon, just enough time for one more locker. He retrieved a fresh duffel and moved to the next locker. He unlocked it, opened it up and peered inside.

Inside was a rack of marksman rifles, most were Standard issue L129A1 marksman rifles but the one at the end was not. This rifle was fitted with a Magpul MOE retractable stock, 16 inch barrel surrounded by picatinny rails, a Harris bipod, and a large X6 ACOG sight with a micro red-dot. Jason smiled, he knew an HK417 anywhere. He picked up the rifle from the rack, its familiar weight reassuring in his hands. He decided it then and there; this one was his.

He grabbed a cleaning kit, accessories and as many magazines for it as he could find, as well as a large box of 7.62 NATO rounds. He rigged up the rifle's strap and slung his new rifle on his shoulder. He put the L129A1's into the duffel as well as their cleaning kits, magazines until it was full. He glanced down at his watch again, time for the groups break.

He left his partially filled bag of marksman rifles and headed for the foyer where they were going to have their break. The hallway was filled with piles of full duffel bags and weapons cases outside open cells. Each pile was up to Jason's waist in height, that meant a lot of guns, and they weren't halfway done yet. A sudden thought struck him, would there be a problem about his new found rifle. He entered the foyer…

And discovered there would be no problem…

He was the last one to arrive, and each of them had picked up something. Sergeant Sale was whistling quietly to himself while he was worked on attaching a holographic sight to a Bellini M4 shotgun. Wheatcroft was busying herself with cleaning a Sig P226 tactical, and Martel was happily sizing up a Dragunov sniper rifle he'd looted.

"So what did you get?" asked Sale as he looked up at Jason. Jason smiled as he unslung his new battle rifle and displayed it to his colleagues. Wheatcroft whistled approvingly.

"HK417, nice."

"Anything wrong with your L98?" asked Martel.

"Let's just say I prefer something with a little more kick." Replied Jason as he sat down against the wall, placing his backpack down as he rummaged through it to find something to eat. Sale looked at his, slightly skeptically as he pointed to the 417.

"You know how to use that?" He asked.

"Yup."

"I didn't think cadets could get qualified on the 417." Stated Martel.

"We can't." replied Jason as he took out the box of 7.62 and started loading magazines. "I did it privately."

"That sounds like a story worth hearing." Said Wheatcroft, setting aside her Sig and listening.

"Alright." Said Jason. He continued to load mags as he worked. "Last summer, I went to a shooting school in America run by this old delta force captain. During the sniper section of the course, everyone got their choice of rifle, I chose the civvie version of this bad boy. I came second on the sniper section behind this Japanese kid… Hirano? I think his name was. He was good."

"How good?" asked Martel.

"I saw him get a 10 round half inch grouping at 500 yards in the dark." Replied Jason, he then looked at Martel. "A balalaika huh?"

Martel looked confused, "Nah mate's it a Dragunov."

Jason laughed. "I know mate. Balalaika is a Russian army slang nickname for the Dragunov. Speaking of which, you got any ammo for that thing?"

"Yeah," He said, "I found about 'hundred rounds."

"Not enough mate." Jason shook his head, "And Russian 7.62x54 isn't common enough for it to be practical. I'd ditch it and get something else."

"But…"

"He's right Martel." Said Sale. "Ditch it and stick with your L98. I'm sure the corporal will teach you all you need to know about his new 417. Won't you corporal?"

"As soon as were back home mate." Promised Jason, offering a fist bump to seal the deal. Once the pact was made Sergeant Sale spoke up.

"Right then." He began. "Fireteam Charlie has finished at the fuel dump and are heading back. They want us to load up what we've got into one of their trucks and they'll take 'em back. We're to continue clearing out the armory and magazine before taking what we've got to base stores, and help Fireteam Bravo clear out the stores. Understood?"

"One question Sergeant." Said Martel, "What are we doing about explosives and big stuff? I found a case of LAWs, few cases of grenades and even a few mortars and .50 cals plus plenty of ammo."

"Bring 'em." Said Sale, "If were short of space we can leave them but otherwise bring 'em. I'm sure Wheatcroft would be willing to help you pack it up while Rees and I get the truck loaded. Now then, if there isn't anything else?" The cadets remained silent.

"Crack on then."

…

"This is the last of it Sergeant." Rees said as he ferried 2 large and heavy duffel bags of weapons and ammo as well as a pair of long rifle cases from the armory to the waiting truck.

"What's in the rifle cases?" asked Sale as he loaded a duffel onto the truck.

"L115A3's," replied Jason, "found a few in a crate."

"Nice." Commented Sale as he lugged the crates and last duffel aboard. He looked at the vast pile of bags and boxes.

"I think we can get a few more things in here. Go and see if Martel and Wheatcroft have any of those mortars or fifty cals packed up yet."

"Sure thing." Jason turned and jogged back into the armory, his kit jumping up and down as he moved. He moved through the hallway and down the stairs at the back of the armory and down to the basement. The basement was almost exactly the same as the ground floor above. The only difference was that there was no doorway at the far end, only a brick wall. Jason moved at a normal pace towards the furthest open vault, walking in casually.

"Hey did you guys finish packing up those…. Whoa."

He found at the back of vault Martel and Wheatcroft making out wholeheartedly, to the extent that they didn't actually register Jason's presence until he cleared his throat for the 3rd time of increasing volume. They look surprised to say the least.

"Well then…" he began,

"We were just…" interrupted Wheatcroft before being silenced by Jason raising his hand.

"Have you guys got any of those mortars or fifty cals packed yet?" Asked Jason. Martel pointed to a large wooden box, the black stenciled markings indicated it was a fifty. Jason nodded, grunting as he took the weight of the HMG and its case. He turned to leave, pausing at the door.

"Thanks guys. Carry on."

He left the surprised cadets in the vault and lugged the heavy weapon back up the stairs to Sale and the waiting truck.

"Didn't they give you a hand with that?" Sale asked as he moved up the path to help Jason with the gun.

"They were… indisposed…"

"First base or second?"

"I'd say about halfway between."

"Right…" They hauled the MG into the back of the lorry, then signaled the driver he was loaded and good to go. The lorry started up and the lorry moved off to rejoin the convoy heading back for Chester. Sale turned back toward the armory with Jason in tow.

"We clear out the armory then head over to Bravo at stores." Said Sale, "I want to be outta here inside of 3 hours. This place gives me the creeps."

"Yes Sergeant." Agreed Jason, this place gave him the creeps too.

* * *

 **Chester safe zone  
Northgate**

 **Z-day + 6  
16:00**

The convoy of laden trucks rolled back through the Northgate in the city walls, for the first time in hours the men and cadets who'd been to the dale truly relaxed. The convoy was directed into the Chester castle car park, where they would unload the weapons and stores into the museum and other stores buildings. Jason thanked the truck driver for the ride and jumped down from the cab.

While the mission had been a success, it had cost them 2 cadets from Delta who'd been bitten while guarding the vehicles. All the cadets were exhausted and even the regulars who'd lead the mission were tired.

"Corporal Rees." Called an unfortunately familiar voice. Jason looked over towards the voice, hoping to be mistaken as to its owner. He wasn't.

Sergeant Owens strode across the car park towards him. Unlike Sergeant Sale, who was fit and trim and was understanding to the trials that the cadets were facing, Owens' stomach bulged over the belt of his combats and was the dictionary definition of an asshole. Jason groaned internally, of all the people that had died to the infection, why couldn't Owens have been one of them?

"Sergeant Owens." Replied Jason, nodding respectfully to the adult NCO.

"Why weren't you at the briefing today?" Owens demanded.

"Well I was…" Jason started but was cut off by Owen.

"Stand to attention when you talk to an adult NCO!" Jason frowned and snapped to attention.

"Sergeant. I was deployed on an operation to Dale camp to recover arms and ammunition." He replied, "I also was unaware of any briefing that I was to attend." Sergeant Owens did not look convinced.

"Really? Well then you've been reassigned to the training Rota."

"Training Rota? Who are we training?"

"New recruits." Replied Owen, "Everything will be explained at parade this evening, in front of the town hall. Now go get changed, you stink."

"Yes Sergeant." Replied Jason. He turned and left the Sergeant, happy that he'd stashed his new 417 in his patrol bag, otherwise that would have started a huge fight that he wasn't certain he would win. And what was this parade? And training Rota? He'd guess he'd find out later tonight. But the Sergeant was right about one thing…

He really did need a shower…

* * *

 **Chester Town hall** **  
** **Chester Safe zone**

 **Zday +6** **  
** **19:00**

"PARADE… Stand at ease!"

Jason and the hundred or so other cadets stood at ease in unison. They were formed up outside the steps leading up to the town hall having been ordered to attend. Gathered around were civilians as well, curious as to what was happening. Squadron Leader Marsden came forward, standing in front of the massed cadets.

"Cadets." He began, "Over the last few days, you have borne great hardship, sacrifice and loss, and for that you have my thanks. You were called upon to assist with dealing with the outbreak, and you have done that."

He looked at the cadets, some only 13, and some looked relieved, as if they were about to be told they could go home and back to their lives. Marsden was sorry to disappoint

"It is however my sad duty to inform you, that we have failed to stop the outbreak. We have lost all communications with Civil and Military authorities. We cannot raise any other safe zones, and our scouts have reported that the safe zones in Blacon and Wrexham have been overrun with no survivors. As far as we can discern, we are the only ones left."

He let that sink in. Many of the cadets and the civilians were listening more intently, and some were despairing. He couldn't blame them.

"Therefore," he continued, "In compliance with our last transmission from regional command. All cadets above the age of 16 are herby drafted into the First Chester Militia Company. You are no longer cadets, but members of her majesties British Army holding equivalent rank to that which you held as a cadet. You will be expected to carry out your duties as expected of a member of the armed forces. Cadets under the age of 16, we thank you for your service. You will be honorably discharged and are welcome to rejoin after you turn 16."

He then looked up to the civilians.

"Any civilian between the ages of 16 and 45 are welcome to enlist. Speak to any of the adult NCO's or come to the recruiting station outside the town hall."

"And what are we supposed to do?" shouted a cadet. Jason looked over, it was a young cadet, and was one of the cadets who was just dismissed.

"School will be starting in a few days for those under 16." Announced Marsden. There was a massed groan from the ranks of cadets. Marsden smiled, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

* * *

 **Dear reader,**

 **Here's chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it and please review it, it helps me write better stuff in the future...**

 **This is the last of the 'stage setting' chapters, from here on out were going to be having survival issues, domestic and otherwise. And its going to be sick... hopefully... (that's British teenager for awesome for those who don't speak brit)**

 **Once again I must thank my beta reader who was named in the previous chapter and I do hope that you are enjoying the story thus far.**

 **Your** **Sincerely**

 **Jango  
**

 **P.S. To the bellend (he knows who he is) that stole my donuts... I'm coming for you...**


	4. Chapter 4

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

 **Chapter 4: Learn fast, or die hard.**

 **Fred**

 **Chester safe zone  
Chester ****Castle**

 **Z-day + 20  
09:00  
**

As soon as the breakfast trays had been bused in for cleaning, the recruits had been ordered into PT kit and lead through their morning exercises: press ups, sit ups, Burpies, and other exercises, before being lead on a 5 lap run around Chester city walls (which roughly came to 10 miles). Over their 2 weeks of training, the recruits had become more or less used to the program of exercise. But up until today, they hadn't done the run with full twenty-five kilo rucksacks. As a result, by the time they returned to the Castle parade square (what had once been the car park) they were all sore from pain and exhaustion.

This was true for Fred as well as everyone else. While he had been a fit lad before, before joining the military he had not been exercised this thoroughly or brutally before and it was taking its toll. He winced as he removed his rucksack, but it was easy to hide as most of the recruits were in similar states of pain. Fred watched as one recruit heaved the contents of his unsettled stomach over the black tarmac. As a few others began to vomit, Fred retrieved his canteen from his rucksack. He got 2 large gulps down before it was pulled violently from his hands by a Sergeant Owen.

"Slow recruit." He said, "Drink it slow or you'll get cramps."

"Yes Sergeant." Fred replied. Fred was handed back his water bottle and he started drinking again, although slower than he had been.

"Alright, Fall in. Squad of 3 ranks." Shouted Owens. The recruits slowly began to move into line, but this was not fast enough for Owens.

"MOVE! YOU'RE ON MY TIME! NOT YOURS!" Fred stowed his canteen and swung the bag onto his back as the other recruits rushed to fall in. He stepped into the rear rank just as Owens brought the recruits to attention. In rough unison, 42 gym shoes stamped to attention.

"Recruits," began Owen. "Today's run marked the conclusion of the end of your initial training. You are no longer recruits, but commissioned to the rank of Private. From now on you will be divided into your fireteams. The roles these teams will fulfil may vary. Some of you will become recon and scavenger teams. Others mortar and other weapons crews, some administrators and support staff." Owen removed a notebook from his fatigues pocket.

"The following Privates are assigned to Fireteam Dragon: Private Holland, Private Ross, Private Hakim. Report to stores, you're NCO will meet you there. Fall out."

Fred watched as the new soldiers of Fireteam Dragon fell out of line and headed off towards stores. Fhajad looked back at Fred as he followed his new fireteam. He nodded to Fred respectfully, Fred nodded back. Owens then read out the next fireteam;

"Fireteam Viking: Privates Vera, Long and Hanson. Fall out." Fred, upon hearing his name, immediately fell out of line and started moving towards stores. He looked around and saw two other people moving with him. Fred didn't know them personally, but he knew their names.

Akio Long was a tall girl with an athletic build, blood red hair and contrasting emerald green eyes. She usually kept to herself, but she'd proven herself as the best of the recruits at hand to hand combat, to the point that she'd left their instructor on the ground when she'd sparred with him, clutching at his ribs. She'd been reprimanded for excessive use of force, but allowed to continue her training.

In contrast to Akio, Alex Vera was kind and approachable, while still being incredibly attractive. Fred also knew she had been a doctor in training and was a skilled medic. She could have continued to work in the town's hospital, but it spoke volumes that she'd joined up when the call went out for volunteers.

The 3 headed for stores. As they walked into the castle, Alex dropped in step with Fred.

"I'm Alex. You are?"

"Fred. Fred Hanson."

"So why'd you join?" asked Alex.

"I'm good with radios," replied Fred, smirking slightly before his face darkened. "I used to run a small radio set out of my room. Not much good now though. What about you?"

"Didn't want to spend my whole time in the hospital patching up bruised knees and handing out aspirins for headaches," she replied. "Thought I could be of more use here. What about you..?"

"I joined to fight," replied Akio. She looked back over her shoulder smiling. "And call me Akio."

"To fight?" asked Alex, confused. Akio sighed.

"When things were going from bad to worse, I saw a woman trying to reason with an infected, right up till the point that it killed her. I then watched as she turned, and was about to tear into her own daughter before I stopped her. I don't want that to happen again."

"Fair enough," replied Fred. They then arrived at stores before they could continue the conversation.

Stores had once been a store room for legal documents, but now it was a supply room for uniforms, webbing and other items of military kit that didn't need to be stored in a secure armory. On a table behind the desk was a line of large black duffel bags with pieces of paper on them.

"Names?" asked the adult NCO acting as stores officer.

"Privates Hanson, Vera and Long." Said Akio. The stores man nodded, before turning and moving up and down the line of black bags, extracting 3 and handing them to their designated recipients.

"You guys fireteam Viking?" asked a voice. Alex, Fred and Akio turned around, finding a camouflaged corporal standing in the doorway.

"Yeah that's us," said Fred. The Corporal nodded.

"Nice to meet you. I'm your team leader, Corporal Rees. Your names are?"

"Private Fred Hanson."

"Private Alex Vera," the young woman said with a smile as she recognized the NCO's face.

"Private Akio Long."

"Ok then, follow me." The 3 privates followed their new Corporal through the castle's seemingly innumerable office hallways, until he lead them into one of the rooms off one of these identical hallways.

"This, is our bunk room." Announced Corporal Rees. The room had once been an office, but the office furniture and had been replaced with 4 identical camp beds, foot lockers and cupboards, everything you'd expect to find in a military bunk room. Rees pointed to the bed on the right hand side of the door, it already had a bag and a rifle on it.

"That one's mine," said Rees. "Hanson your opposite me, Vera and Long you've got the back ones. I'll see about getting some curtains or something to get you a little more privacy." They moved to their new beds, setting down the black bags.

"In the bags you'll find a green T-shirt, as well as a green belt, combat shirt and trousers, hiking socks and assault boots. Dig them out and get changed, then come back here. Toilets are down the hall. "

Fred dug through his bag before withdrawing the items before heading in the directions of the toilets to change. He stripped off his sports kit, still saturated with sweat from the morning exercises, and donned the multicam combat fatigues. Once he was fairly certain he had it on correctly, he pulled on his boots. They were hard black leather, and rubbed against his heel, but they fitted. He returned to the bunk room.

"You need to tuck in your combat shirt," said Rees as he inspected Fred as he arrived, "but otherwise not a bad effort. Anything wrong with it otherwise?"

"The boots are a bit uncomfortable," said Fred. Rees nodded.

"You'll need to break them in. If you get blisters, and you will, let me know and I'll give you some blister plasters." The girls returned shortly after and once Rees had made pointed out some corrections they needed to make, they sat down on their beds.

"First things first, some housekeeping." Said Rees. "When were outside of this room, in the presence of officers, NCO's or other soldiers, it's a last name and rank basis. But when we're here, in private or on patrol, I've got no problem with using first names. Anyone got a problem with that? Oh, and its Jason by the way."

"I remember," Alex said with a smile.

"You two know each other?" Fred asked as Akio watched.

"We had a drink at Mickie's a few weeks back," Jason said. "In fact I think it was Z-Day."

"We had both had a very long day," Alex said. "It was good just to sit down and talk."

"So... what are we supposed to do now?" asked Akio. Jason smiled. He reached into his bag and removed an L85 from it.

"Well," he said, "let's get our stuff away, then I'll introduce you to your new weapons."

* * *

 **Jason**

 **Chester safe zone  
Northgate**

 **Z-day + 23  
13:00**

"Alright, just remember what I taught you. Ready, Aim, Fire."

 _Ka-pow_

Jason sighed, "Missed again Alex. You're still snatching at the trigger."

Alex growled in frustration. Fireteam Viking had been keeping watch on the north wall for the last 7 hours, and Jason had been using the time and occasional infected to allow his rookie team to get some target practice in. Fred had, with only little instruction become a competent shot and with a little more attention, so had Akio. However Alex required... more instruction. "Watch and learn." He took Alex's rifle and shouldered it.

"Now squeeze the trigger slowly and don't snatch. That's what's causing you to miss. Here try." He handed back the rifle.

The woman nodded, and mimicked Jason's actions. "I think I see what you're saying Corporal."

"You'll get it." Encouraged Jason, patting Alex on the shoulder reassuringly. "It's just a matter of time and practice. Keep trying."

"Corporal? Can I borrow you a minute?" asked a voice. Jason looked over to where the voice had come from. The now Corporal Wheatcroft, leader of fireteam Wolf, was standing there. Jason smiled.

"Of course Corporal." Replied Jason. "Private Long, you have the watch."

"Yes Corporal." Affirmed Akio. Jason followed Wheatcroft further along the wall to somewhere they could talk undisturbed.

"So how's your squad?" asked Jason. Wheatcroft snorted.

"Well I've got a hyperactive kid, a 23 year old lawyer and a woman who's just found out her daughter's pregnant. How about you?"

"They're solid," replied Jason. "They've got their problems though. Fred is a good bleep, but sometimes I think he's just holding back and not trying. Alex is a first rate medic, but can't shoot for shit. And Akio, she's an expert hand to hand combat fighter, but is aggressive, sometimes overly so. They've got a way to go, but they'll do."

"Glad to hear it," said Wheatcroft. "Cause the CO sent me to tell you. You've got an op. Search and rescue run to Christleton, via Rowton. It's an overnight op."

"That's a first," remarked Jacob. "And I don't think any of the recon teams have been out that far."

"Also true. However you weren't the first choice," replied Wheatcroft. "There's another op, supply run out to a large food warehouse out in Warrington. That's taking up all the other fireteams as well as those on wall duty."

"So... A food run, or a recon mission," pondered Jason. "I think I've got the better choice. When do we leave?"

"When you get off duty, go see the CO, he'll give you a full brief."

"Will do. So how's things with Martel?" Wheatcroft looked surprised and a red shadow of a blush went across her face.

"Fine..." she said, quickly looking around. "Have you told anyone..."

"Not a soul." Jason said. "What happens in the field, stays in the field."

"Good to hear. You better get back to it."

"Right. See ya."

The two Corporals went their separate ways with Jason returning to his post.

"Right guys." He said as he returned to his team. "When we get off duty, go back to the barracks and start packing for an overnight deployment. I'll brief you all when we get back."

* * *

 **Fireteam Viking  
Chester Safe zone**

 **Z-day + 23  
16:00 **

"Rifles?"

"Check."

"Ammo?"

"Check."

"Patrol bags?"

"Check."

"Alright then." Said Jason as he stood up from his bunk. "Let's go."

Fireteam Viking exited their barracks room. They were each decked out in MTP combat fatigues, boots, helmets, webbing, and each bore a patrol pack on their back. They moved out of the barracks and through the city in silence. They knew what they had to do. In their hands they carried L85s, (with the exception of Jacob, who carried his HK 417) with their slings slung and unloaded.

They reached the first of the double gate under the east gate clock. The fireteam on duty waved them through the first set of doors. Once through, the steel gate was sealed behind them. On the inside of the gate in front of them, the one which kept the infected out, someone had spray painted ' _Zed country. Keep out!'_ on it with an arrow pointing up.

"Fireteam Viking." Called Jason, "With a magazine of 30 rounds, load!" The team each removed a magazine from their pouches and inserted them into their rifles with a staccato of metallic _clicks._

"Make ready!"They charged their rifles. They were ready. Jason gave the signal, and the gates were opened.

The area beyond the wall was quiet. No infected activity, just the odd bit of debris or abandoned car. From here they would hoof it out through Chester to Rowton. They'd bed down there for the night then move through Rowton, Waverton and Christleton on their way back.

"Viking." Said Jason. "Fall out."

They clicked their safeties off and moved out.

...

 **18:30**

"Well this isn't at all spooky," commented Akio.

The whole team was inclined to agree. They'd been on the road for nearly 2 and a half hours and they'd had hardly any infected contacts and everyone that they had seen had been either easily dispatched or avoided. But as they'd moved further out of the city, the fewer of them they'd encountered.

In fact the most problematic problem they'd encountered, were roadblocks. Someone had moved cars and other vehicles into the road to create road blocks, either to keep the infected, or someone else, out. They'd either found a route around or managed to get over them but it meant that someone had been around here, and maybe recently.

"Keep an eye out," said Jason. "Call it if you see anything. Were not far from where we'll bed down for the night."

"Where are we stopping?" asked Fred.

"A hotel I used to work at during the holidays," replied Jason. "Pretty small 'no tell motel' kind of set up. Should be a quite place to settle down."

"Really?" snorted Akio, "You worked in a love hotel?"

"And what did you do for a summer job Akio?" asked Fred. "Vigilante bully buster?" Akio snorted.

"No," she said, "I worked as a waitress at my grandfather's Chinese restaurant."

"Fair enough," said Jason. "It's not much further." A thought then crossed Jason's mind. It was a difficult question that he had to ask.

"Does anyone have any family in the area?"

There was a moment silence among the group; it was not a comfortable one.

"No." Replied Fred.

"I don't." said Akio. Alex however was silent.

"Alex?"

"My gran." She replied. "She lives in Christleton, near the Highschool."

"Right, we'll swing by her house in the morning." Said Jason. "For now, were coming up on the hotel. Fan out."

They moved into the hotel car park, weapons raised and scanning for targets. Once in the center, Jason held up his fist, the universal signal for halt.

"All round defense on me." Jason dropped to a knee and the team went prone around him, weapons pointing outward.

"Right, listen in." Said Jason, keeping his voice low so as not to attract undue attention. "The hotel is 3 stories tall. Parking on the west, north and east sides with a forest to the south. Only entrances are the main reception and a fire escape on the north side. On the ground floor is the lobby, a small cafe, housekeeping and maintenance. First floor is accessible by stairs in the back and has 20 rooms on it, same on the second floor. There is a fire exit on the top floor that leads down to the east car park. Any questions?"

"How we going in?" asked Fred.

"Through reception." Replied Jason. "I'll take point. We'll check reception for rented rooms. All the rooms are key locks so we can take the spare room keys and lock them, no telling what might be in there. Then we barricade the front and settle in. Anything else?"

There wasn't. Jason slung his HK and drew his Glock.

"Fix bayonets." The fireteam drew their bayonets and clicked them to their rifles.

"Prepare to move... Move!" Fred was up first, stepping around to the front and his team fell in behind. As they advanced toward the door, one infected pressed itself against the modern glass doors. Jason drew his knife.

"Fred. Get the door on my word. Alex and Akio covering." Fred moved up to be ready to open the door. Alex and Akio moved out to the flanks with rifles raised and Jason stood facing the door. He nodded to Fred. Fred opened the door and the infected stumbled forward. Jason lunged forward, kicking the infected onto its back with his boot, before bringing his knife down into its skull. The infected stopped moving and died as Jason retrieved his knife.

"Sweep and clear." He said. Akio and Alex advanced, moving into the reception in silence. Jason and Fred followed. As the girls secured and held the reception, Jason went behind the desk to retrieve keys and Fred closed the door behind them.

"The desk reads that only 5 rooms out of 40 are rented; 3 on the first floor, 2 on the second. We move through and lock those rooms. But keep sharp, there may be more than a few infected in here. Let's move."

...

An hour later, they had cleared the hotel and the unexpectedly few occupied rooms. Once Jason was satisfied it was secure, they moved the corpses out into the car park and set about burning them. They then set a watch and set themselves up a room on the top floor. While Fred called in their status to HQ on the radio, they managed to recover a supply of the hotels complementary hygiene items which they stowed in their packs. Having discovered there was no edible food left in the hotel, they moved up to the roof to cook some ration packs.

"So what did you guys get?" asked Fred as he tucked into his rat pack.

"Beef stew." Replied Akio, "you?"

"Sausage casserole, although it tastes like chicken curry..." Fred replied.

"That's army ration packs for you guys." Said Jason as he dug into his own ration pack. He looked over to Alex, who was on leaning against the low wall at the edge of the rood. She was looking towards Christleton. Jason got up and walked over to her.

"Tell me about your grandmother," he said, joining her in leaning against the wall.

"Her name is Maggie." Replied Alex, "She's 88. A great cook, better friend..." Alex started breaking down into tears. Jason put an arm around her.

"Hey hey hey." He said reassuringly. "If she's that old she grew up during the war, just like my grandmother. They don't make 'em like that anymore. If she was cut from the same cloth as my Grandmother, then she's a tough old bat. If she's still out there, we'll find her."

Alex sniffed amusingly, struggling to hold back her tears.

"What was your grandmother like?" she asked, "Is she still out there?"

"No." Replied Jason sadly, "Cancer took her 2 years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She was a hell of a woman, a true matriarch. She worked as a medic during the Korean War; met my grandpa in an aid station. She was a mean poker player, took 20 quid off me at one family game. I remember, on her last day, she gave me the money from her purse, almost a hundred pounds, looked me straight in the eye and said; _'Jason. You take that money, grab two of your best friends, and go have a hell of a night on me.'_ "

"Sounds like a great grandmother."

"Yeah, she was. When I got the call that night that she'd died, I understood why she made me take two of my friends with me... I got drunk and nearly started a bar fight and my mates carried me out after I collapsed. Ah... good times..." Jason looked back at Alex.

"If she's there, we'll find her. That's a promise. Now get some scram and get some rack. Were on watch in 2 hour shifts; Fred first, then Akio, then you then me. So get some eats then go to bed." Alex smiled then stood up and threw Jason a jaunty salute.

"Sir Yes Sir!" she said before moving back to Akio and Fred.

"Cocky little..." Whispered Jason to himself before heading back as well. Once they had eaten their fill, Jason and the girls retreated back into the hotel, heading for their bunks. As Fred set about making himself a brew, Jason reappeared.

"Kicked out by the girls huh?" Guessed Fred. Jason nodded then shook his head smiling.

"I told them to sleep in their fatigues, but they insisted on changing into some night clothes they brought. Then they kicked me out." Fred laughed as Jason started making himself a brew with a piece of his ration pack he'd been able to grab before the girls threw them out.

"So what's the story?" asked Jason, "What's it like out there?"

"All quiet since you went inside." Replied Fred as he took a drink of his tea. "I've seen a few infected, but they've moved off."

Jason sighed, "I feel sorry for whichever poor soul has got their attention. I mean when you think about it we're lucky."

"How so?"

"Well we've been behind a thick stone wall since this all went down. We've got food, clean drinking water, plenty of weapons... Any survivors out here might not have any of that."

"You've got a point..." agreed Fred. "Though I'm not sure anyone will still be out there."

The echo of two shotgun blasts in the distance disproved Fred's theory but also made both of the teenage soldiers grab their rifles and get up.

"You see anything?" asked Jason, scanning through his rifle's scope.

"No." Replied Fred, lowering his rifle. "Keep an eye out. If you see anything, call on the squad com."

"Got it. Good night Corporal."

"Good night Fred."

* * *

 **Fireteam Viking  
Chester Outskirts**

 **Z-day + 24  
07:30**

Fireteam Viking moved with all deliberate speed and stealth. They were determined to find Alex's grandmother, along with as many survivors as they could. But Jason knew that sheer determination to succeed would not keep them alive if it hit the fan...

... Cadet Joyce had taught him that much.

They'd set out early, after securing the hotel for future use and disposing of the infected bodies. They'd then swept through the rest of Rowton, then Waverton. Both towns had exhibited signs of looting, but no recent indication of survivors. As they moved closer to Christleton, Jason put up his fist.

They froze.

He then held up 4 fingers and tapped his helmet twice. Alex moved up to him while the rest of the team dropped to a knee.

"Which way to your grandmother's house?" he asked. Alex thought for a moment.

"Second road on the left." She said. Jason nodded.

"Alright. You take point." She started to get up but Jason grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

"When we get to your house. You and Fred stay outside and wait. Akio and I will go in and look for her." Alex was about to protest but Jason cut her off.

"We don't know how we'll find her. She could be alive. Or she could be infected, or dead. If it's either of the last two... We'll I'd rather remember my grandmother for how she was, not how she ended up. Wouldn't you?"

Alex remained silent for a moment, before nodding.

"Alright then. Lead the way."

Alex stood up and started forward. Jason held back and took her place in the formation, close enough that he could relay what was going to happen to Akio and Fred.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Akio after hearing the plan. She was deliberately being quiet enough so that Alex couldn't hear her.

"Yeah." Replied Jason, "I don't want her to break. If her grandmother is dead, seeing her like that may break her."

"You're really concerned for her well being aren't you?" noted Akio. Jason smiled, he saw where she was going with this.

"She is a soldier under my command Akio," Jason said, "Her well being is a top concern of mine. As is yours."

Akio smiled at that.

They marched on, moving through abandoned street after abandoned street. Until they came to a small bungalow. It was a quaint dwelling, a small garden in front and various ornaments in the front window. But there was one feature that told them something was wrong...

The door had been broken in.

"Fred, Alex, set security." Said Jason firmly, "Akio, on me."

Akio and Fred moved to their tasks, Alex hesitated, but then took her position.

Akio and Jason entered the house. They entered into a front living room decorated with numerous pictures and other ornaments, a few of them had pictures of Alex. They moved through the house, clearing a dining room, bedroom and bath room before coming to the kitchen.

"Damn." Was all Akio could say.

They'd found Alex's grandmother. She lying on the kitchen floor, in a pool of her own blood. Her chest cavity had been blasted open. It had been a gruesome, if quick death.

"Looks like a shotgun blast, close range." Determined Jason, disgusted at the sight.

"Which means people did this, not an infected." said Akio. Jason agreed. The cupboards had been emptied of canned goods and other non-perishable food items. This had been people, gunning down an innocent old lady and taking everything she had. The thought made Jason mad. He retreated to the bedroom and removed a sheet from the cupboard. He returned to the kitchen and covered the body. He offered a momentary silent prayer, before turning back to Akio.

"Let's move." He said. They started outward but as they passed a mantel piece, Jason brushed up against a photo in a frame. He reacted and caught it then saw what it was. It was a picture of Alex, along with an adult man and woman who Jason assumed to be her parents, and a picture of her grandmother. They looked happy together, like a family. Jason broke it out of its frame and stuffed it into a pocket of his fatigues before continuing outside. As soon as they exited, Alex abandoned her post and rushed up to them.

"Did you find her?" she asked. Jason sighed.

"We did." He said, he then put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, she's gone."

Alex looked like you'd expect. Tears started to well up in her eyes and she looked down and started to sob.

"Was it infected?" she managed between sobs.

"No." Said Jason. Alex looked him in the eye. She no longer looked like she was in mourning, she looked furious. Jason continued.

"It looks like she was killed by scavengers. Single shotgun blast to the chest. All the food cupboards are empty. It was messy."

He let that sink in.

"Alex. I'm sorry, but we still have a mission to complete. And it's all the more important if there are potentially hostile, desperate people out here. We don't have time to bury her now. But I promise, when were done, we'll come back and give her a proper burial. Agreed?"

She remained silent for a moment.

"Agreed."

"Ok then." Said Jason, "Let's move."

The team continued onward, abit with less chatter than before. They moved into the centre of Christleton. The centre of town was situated on the crossroads of 2 country lanes, and featured a predominant church, a pub, village hall and corner shop/ pharmacy and not really much else.

"Let's check the store." Suggested Jason. The team moved in towards it from the road, when a figure stepped out.

It was a boy. He looked like he was in his early teens, his hair was overgrown and his clothes were shabby. He was carrying a basket, half full with packs of crisps and what looked like bottles of medicine and other products.

He looked at them, they looked at him.

Then he ran.

"Wait! Stop!" shouted Jason. He kept running. The team started sprinting after him, despite being weighed down by their kit and weapons, they kept pace with the kid, he wasn't moving particularly fast. Jason thought he was probably tired... hungry... both.

"Stop Running! We're not going to hurt you!" shouted Fred.

"We're British Army!" added Alex. Their kit was weighing them down; they were going to lose him if they didn't catch up to him. The kid kept running. He rounded a corner, the team followed, he was still running, straight into a group of infected. There were 20 or so of them in the street, now all converging on the boy. He tried to sidestep around one, but he was going too fast and tripped. He flew over before crashing face first onto the pavement, the contents of his shopping basket flew forward and over the ground. The infected were upon him.

"Viking! Engage!" ordered Jason. The team opened fire.

The air filled with sharp _cracks_ as the barrels of their L85A2's cracked and flashed with each round as the team laid down steady streams of fire into the infected. The boy curled up into a ball as the rounds _whizzed_ over head. Jason moved forward, carefully placing shots into infected with shots from his 417.

 _Ka-pow! Ka-pow!_ One target down. _Ka-pow! 'that's 2.'_ He thought as he dropped to a knee and continued firing. With the combined firepower they brought, it didn't take long to clear the street.

"Cease fire!" called Jason. "Clear!"

"Clear." Replied each of the team as they each checked a different angle of approach.

"Anyone injured?" asked Alex. Each of the team reported fine as they moved back towards the boy.

"You ok kid?" asked Fred. The boy looked up to see the 4 camouflaged soldiers looking down at him.

"Get away from me!" he shouted, scrambling to his feat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a kitchen knife. As soon as he did, Akio and Fred had their guns on him.

"Whoa, take it easy." Said Jason, stepping forward to try and diffuse the now volatile situation. "Were not going to hurt you. We just want to talk."

"You're not gonna get my stuff!" he shouted, He started backing up and kneeling down and feeling for his scattered supplies while keeping the knife pointed at Jason and his team.

"We don't want your stuff." Said Jason. "We just want to talk." Jason looked down at the supplies, there were a lot of medical drug bottles. He reached into a pouch on his webbing.

"Here," he said as he removed a small personal first aid kit. He proffered it to the boy before tossing it to the ground in front of him. "It's yours. We just want to talk, we're not going to hurt you." The boy eyed the first aid kit with intent before looking back to Jason.

"How do I know I can trust you?" He said. Jason shrugged.

"If we wanted to hurt you," he said, "we would have already shot you." He turned to his team. "Weapons down. Set security."

Slowly Akio and Fred lowered their rifles and they and Alex then moved to a position to cover away from the boy and Jason, but so that they could still see them and react if necessary.

"My name is Jason Rees. What's yours?"

"Callum." Said the boy, slowly edging forward to the offered first aid kit but not taking his eyes of Jason. Jason saw this and kicked it gently closer with his boot. As Callum made a lunge for it, Jason made all efforts to look as less threatening as possible. He waited until Callum had the first aid kit and was upright before continuing.

"Why are you helping me?" Asked Callum.

"It's our job." Replied Jason. "We're a British Army recon team based at the Chester Safe zone. We're on a recon mission to find survivors and bring them back to the city. Now I have a question for you, can you lower the knife please?"

Callum lowered the knife.

"Who are the meds for Callum?" asked Alex, stepping into the conversation. "Is someone sick?"

"This is Private Alex Vera." Introduced Jason, "She's our team medic. But she has a point Callum. Is someone hurt?"

"No." He replied shortly. Jason was about to ask another question when he spotted 2 items on the floor. One was a smashed jar of orange paste, the other was a packet of nappies.

"Do you have a younger sibling?" asked Jason. Callum looked surprised.

"How did you..."

"Well the nappies and baby food aren't for you I take it." Jason replied. "If you take us to them, we can bring you back to Chester."

The boy continued to reclaim his scavenged items and put them in his shopping basket.

"Guys, we've got company." Cautioned Akio. She was right, the sound of mass gunfire had attracted seemingly all the infected in the area. "We can't stay here."

"Do you have a place to go?" Jason asked, he already knew Callum did.

"Yes." He said. His voice sounded slightly panicked at the thought of being surrounded and over run by infected. He turned and started moving down the street "Follow me."

"Let's move Viking!"

The team took off after Callum. Wherever he was going, was probably better than an infected infested street.

* * *

 **Here we are guys, Chapter 4.**

 **I have a request for you guys... PLEASE REVIEW MORE! I can't tell if the vast majority of you are enjoying the story from 5 reviews over 3 chapters. I need more people reviewing so I can see where I'm going wrong.**

 **Things are starting to move forward with the plot and I've got my first 'story Ark' coming up. It'll probably last around 3 chaptes before leading into the next one, and I have 4/5 planned.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you think... please...**

 **Jango**


	5. Chapter 5

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

 **Chapter 5: The best of intentions**

 **Fireteam Viking  
Christleton outskirts**

 **Approx. 8 miles from Chester safe zone**

 **Z-day + 24  
12:42**

"We're hold up in an abandoned house just down the road from here."

"Did your family know you slipped out for a supply run?"

"... No."

"Ok then. Lead the way."

Fireteam Viking, lead by Callum, emerged from the hedge covered ditch that they'd spent the last half an hour slowly crawling through to evade the large number of infected that had emerged due to the noise of their gunfire.

They moved down the road, stepping softly to limit the amount of noise they made. They came to a wooden gate that interrupted the line of overgrown hedges. The sign on the gate read; _'Churchill House'_. Callum opened the gate and they moved through it. On the inside was a court yard with an overgrown lawn and a gravel path that led to a 2 storie red brick house. There were no vehicles present but a washing line handing up with clothes drying in the light wind.

"This is it?" asked Jason.

"Yes." Said Callum. Jason was about to ask another question when the front door to the house opened. A tall, well built middle aged man with short blond hair appeared at the door. He wore an old leather Jacket, and held a double barrelled shotgun in one hand. He raised the shotgun.

"Callum!" He shouted. "Where have you been?! And who are they?!"

"Lower your weapon sir." Jason said. "We're British Army, we're not going to hurt you." The man's attitude suddenly changed from confrontational, to submissive.

"Look." He said, lowering his shotgun. "Take our food. Take whatever you want, just don't hurt my boy."

"We don't want anything." Said Jason, "And we're not going to hurt your boy. We just want to help you." The man was about to question Jason further, when there was a laboured groan of pain from inside the house. A small girl who couldn't have been older than 8 then appeared at the door.

"It's happening again father." She said. The man looked at her, and looked at Callum, then Jason finally, before running back inside. Callum followed and a moment later, after a requesting glance to Jason, Alex chased after them.

"Wait Alex!" called Jason, but it was too late, she was going in. "Damn it. Viking on me."

They sprinted forward, weapons at the ready. Alex disappeared through the door. Jason, Fred and Akio followed her in, hot on her heals. They moved into a hallway, and found Alex standing at the first door on the right.

"Private Vera! What is your problem..." Jason petered out as he looked into the room.

It was the farm house's old living room. There was a group of people in the middle; an old man, a teenage girl, a young boy and the young girl from before, Callum and his father. They were clustered around a heavily pregnant middle aged woman. She looked like she was in pain.

"It's alright honey, just breath it out..." The father was trying to sooth his wife.

"Easy for you to say!" she snarled back through gritted teeth.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Jason. Stepping into the room. Everyone looked up at him.

"She's experiencing false labour." Replied the elderly gentleman. "Who are you?"

"Corporal Jason Rees." He replied, "British Army, First Chester Militia Company. Is there anything we can do for her?"

"No." Replied the old man, "Unless you've got access to a hospital, she'll just need to ride it out. The problem will come when she needs to deliver the baby."

"If we can get her back to Chester," said Alex, "Then she can deliver in the hospital."

"Chester?" Queried the father. He looked at them as if they were crazy before looking back to his wife. "The city is overrun."

"No," replied Jason, "Not inside the city walls. As far as we can tell, we're all that's left. My team and I were sent out to find survivors like you and bring them back. From the looks of it, we found you just in time."

"How do we know this isn't a trick?" Demanded the father. "How do we know you don't want to steal or supplies?"

"If we wanted your supplies," cut in Akio, "We would have followed your son back here, waited till nightfall then snuck in and executed you all in the night and then..."Jason cut her off.

"Private Long, enough." He turned to face the family. "She has a point though. If we wanted anything you had we could have just taken it. Fortunately for you, we don't want to do that."

"Can you take us all?" asked a voice. It took everyone a moment to realize it was the mother who'd said it.

"Yes. We take everyone." Said Jason. "I assume you want to come?" The father looked at his wife, before looking back at Jason and nodding. Jason had his permission.

"Private Akio. Set watch from an upstairs room with an arc of fire covering the front gate. Private Vera, do what you can from a medical perspective. Private Hanson, get me command on the horn."

"Yes Corporal!"

Alex, Akio and Fred went to their tasks. Jason dropped down to by Fred as he set up his radio. Jason withdrew his map and map and worked out their grid reference. Fred handed him the mouth piece and Jason clicked the transmit stud.

"Hello Zero, this is Romeo-Tango-Viking. Radio Check, Over."

" _Hello Romeo-Tango-Viking, this is Zero. Loud Clear. Over."_

"Zero, this is Romeo-Tango-Viking, request immediate vehicle extraction from Grid 574249 for my team plus six survivors. Over."

There was a moment before the operator on the other end replied.

" _Romeo-Tango-Viking, this is Zero. Umm, we are unable to provide extraction at this time. Suggest you return on foot. Over."_

'The bloody hell?' thought Jason before he pressed the transmit stud again. "Zero, this is Romeo-Tango-Viking. Negative. Unable to extract on foot due to a number of survivors being none foot mobile. Repeat request for immediate vehicle extraction. Over."

The same reply came back with the same, regulated voice that military personnel referred to as the 'Huston control centre' voice... and it was really beginning to piss Jason off.

"Zero, this is Romeo-Tango-Viking. Negative unable to return on foot. I've got survivors including 2 children, and old man and a heavily pregnant woman who's experiencing false Labour. Now get me a bloody vehicle extraction! Over."

" _Romeo-Tango-Viking, this is Zero. We are unable to extract at this time but will send vehicles as soon as they are available. Out."_

After command hung up, Jason growled.

"That useless bureaucratic son of a..."

"Is help coming?" asked a voice. Jason sighed and looked at the little girl who had asked and her family.

"Yes," he said, "but not for a few hours. I suggest we pack our things and wait out. Unless any of the vehicles nearby are working, were going to have some time."

The family looked amongst themselves before they slowly started moving to pack their belongings. As they moved though, Jason couldn't help but notice that they were keeping to themselves. Jason shrugged it off as an after effect of being out here so long, and went to check on Akio in the lookout position.

* * *

 **14:00**

After a lunch of ration packs and tea (something the adults of the now named Wilson family were very grateful for), Jason settled down in the farm houses living room to strip and clean his rifle.

After removing the magazine and clearing the weapon, he removed his cleaning kit and started field striping the rifle. As he oiled and scrubbed each of the working parts, he mumbled a quiet prayer to himself, a habit that he'd gotten into during his shooting course in America.

"This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must kill him before he kills me..."

"Wow. You have watched way too many war films." Said voice. Jason looked up from is work to see Akio leaning in the doorway smirking at him.

"Well," said Jason, "When your shooting instructor is a former US marine drill Sergeant you tend to get a few things drilled into you." Replied Jason. Akio frowned

"I thought the guy who ran the shooting course was an ex- Delta Force Colonel?" Jason smiled,

"He was." He said, "The other instructors were either ex-military or government agents. My rifle instructor was a retired Marine. He ingrained the rifleman's creed into me. As cheesy as it is, it's become a force of habit."

"Well I think it's cute." Said Akio. A prang of concern went through him.

"Akio..." Jason was about to launch into a talk about how she was in his charge, when Callum came into the living room.

"Dad." He said, panic in his voice. "They 're here."

There was a sudden stillness in the room, before the father rose to his feet from where he'd been sitting.

"O...Ok." he said, his voice shaking, "I... I'll go and talk to them."

"What's going on?" asked Jason. Mr. Wilson turned to the teenage soldier.

"They're a group of thugs we've been seeing in the area." He explained. "We give them half of our food and they leave us alone. We were trying to leave the area but, without a vehicle and with my wife..."

"I understand." Replied Jason, "What can we do to help?"

"Don't do anything!" Mr. Wilson sounded almost desperate. "Please. They're heavily armed and will do anything to get what they want. Please... I can talk them down, just... don't get involved."

Jason was unconvinced but agreed.

"Ok." He said. Mr. Wilson nodded before heading out into the hallway. Once he was out of ear shot, Jason nodded to Akio and keyed his team com;

"Viking, stand too." Jason reached for his rifle, only to find it was still in pieces. He keyed his com. "Alex, I need your rifle and ammo."

" _On the way boss."_ She replied over the radio.

"I thought you said you weren't going to get involved!" cried Mrs. Wilson. At that point Alex arrived and handed over her L85 and its ammo to Jason.

"We're not," Replied Jason as he charged the rifle, "but I'm not going to let him go out there without some cover." He keyed his radio again;

"Fireteam Viking, set up covering Mr. Wilson, but stay out of sight. Fire only if I give the order. Fred, what do you see?"

" _We've got 5 adult males, armed with axes, machete's and a sawn of shotgun. Looks like a bunch of gangbangers."_

"Alright," said Jason over the radio. "Pick your targets; I got the shotgunner, only fire if I give the order."

Akio disappeared into the next room across the hall, taking up position at the window from within the heavy velvet curtain.

Jason set up his own rifle covering the meeting. Mr. Wilson greeted the gangbangers in the middle of the gravel car park. He could hear muffled conversation; the apparent leader was making wide sweeping motions with his arms, waving his machete around non-caringly. Mr. Wilson said something, and the leader turned around and hit him. Mr. Wilson had to be 30 years his attackers senior and was unarmed; he stood little to no chance in a fight.

Jason moved from his position at the window and stormed out the front door, he skidded to a halt outside, training his rifle on the leader.

"British Army!" He half shouted, half snarled. "Drop your weapons!"

For a moment there was silence. The gang members stared at Jason in surprise, not having expected a fully combat clad teenager complete with rifle to burst from the building and make demands of them. Jason stared back at the leader through his rifle's battle sights, trained on the man's chest.

They started laughing, hysterically, as if someone had just dropped the joke of the century. Jason cautiously advanced, placing himself alongside Mr. Wilson. He glanced down at him, Mr. Wilson has a bloody nose, but otherwise was no worse for wear.

"Kid..." said the leader, still coming down from his laughing fit, "Didn't no one tell you? There is no more army, there ain't no more Britian!"

"I beg to differ sir." Replied Jason, "Corporal Jason Rees. First Chester Militia Company, 2nd Platoon, Fireteam Viking. Now drop your weapons!"

The man was over his laughing fit but still highly amused. "You know kid. I don't think you're old enough to handle a gun like that. Johnny, take his gun."

'Johnny' stepped forward. He twirled a machete in one hand as he walked towards Jason casually. His gang comrades were laughing and joking amongst themselves.

In one smooth, emotionless motion, Jason pivoted to the left, trained his rifle on Johnny, and fired twice into the man's chest. The 5.56 NATO rounds tore straight through the man's heart, lung and ribcage. Tearing fragments of organ, tissue and bone out of his back in a dark, red mist. Johnny collapsed. He was dead before he hit the floor.

They stopped laughing and joking.

"That man." Said the leader coldly, "had a wife and daughter."

"You should have thought of that before sending him to take my weapon." Replied Jason, retraining his weapon on the leader. "You've got 2 choices; 1. Put down your weapons, return to Chester with us and become a normal citizen. Or 2. Leave now. We will not follow you or harm you. Your call."

The leader looked at Jason. Jason looked at him.

"Kid." He said, "You just made the last mistake of your life. We got a crew. We got guns. And we can fight a whole lot better than some punk as military wanna be."

"Maybe." Replied Jason, "but I got people to protect."

"Oh yeah, the Wilson family," said the Leader, he pointed to Mr. Wilson, who was still on the floor. "The problem is he owns me, protection insurance."

Jason glanced down at Mr. Wilson. He nodded.

"Doesn't matter." Replied Jason, he turned back to the leader. "They are under my protection now."

"Huh. We'll just see about that." Said the leader. "Let's go."

The leader and his 3 remaining gangbangers turned and headed away. As they left through the drive fence, shutting it behind them, Jason tapped Mr. Wilson on the shoulder, the signal for him to get back inside. The man got up and retreated, while Jason back paced slowly, rifle trained on the gate and ready to fire. Once at the door, he wheeled inside and locked it.

"Well that went well." He said as he followed Mr. Wilson into the living room where his family was waiting for him.

"Do you know what you've just done?!" asked Mr. Wilson, he was panicking.

"Probably saved your life." Said Jason. He then shrugged, and maybe started a war."

"They will kill us if they get the chance." Cautioned Mrs. Wilson.

"Well then they won't get the chance." Promised Jason, he keyed his radio. "I'm guessing you guys saw all that?"

" _Affirmative."_ Replied Akio.

"Well then," said Jason, "It looks like we better get ready. Fred, you take my HK and go on overwatch, and see if you can get a rush on that evac. Akio, help me set up some defensive positions. Alex, see if you can find us a way out of here if this goes tits up. Mr. Wilson, I suggest you and your family pack up your absolute necessities and find out who's prepared to fight."

"We can't run! My wife is..." Jason cut him off.

"Then I suggest you gather all the spare ammo you've got for that shotgun and get ready."

...

Jason grunted as he moved the sofa over to block to barricade the front door. Once he was satisfied that the impromptu barricade was in place, he returned to his firing point in the front living room.

The preparations for the gang attack had been going on for the last 2 hours. While the Wilson family had been packing, Viking had been erecting barricades at the windows and doorways, distributing extra ammunition, topping off magazines and generally making ready for a fire fight. Satisfied that his position was as set as it could be, Jason relaxed briefly.

In the room was Mr. Wilson senior and Mrs. Wilson. As the 2 who were least mobile, the activity had almost been a bubble around them.

"Mr and Mrs Wilson," began Jason, "I think it would be better if you moved into one of the back rooms. They should provide a little more protection if they come back with heavy weapons."

"Do you think It'll come to that?" asked Mrs. Wilson who was visibly frightened. Probably at the thought of maybe having to deliver her baby with a firefight going off around her.

"I hope it won't come to that ma'am." Replied Jason, "But we best be prepared if it does." He turned to Mr. Wilson senior.

"Sir, did you do national service in your younger years?"

"Yes." He nodded, "Royal Army Medical Corps, tour of duty in Cyprus." Jason nodded. He removed his Glock from its holster and offered it to him.

"Do you remember your way around one of these?" Mr. Wilson took the Glock, it dipped a bit in his frail hand.

"I trained on a Webley nearly 60 years ago." Mr. Wilson replied. Jason took the Glock back and cocked it before handing it back.

"Similar idea." Said Jason, "Safety's here, magazine release here. Here's a spare mag. Point and shoot."

" _Contact."_ Said Fred over the radio. They all knew what that ment. Mr Wilson Senior started to carefully move himself and Mrs. Wilson into the back room, while Jason swiftly took up his position.

"All Viking call signs report status." Ordered Jason as he set up his rifle.

" _Viking 2 in position and ready."_ Said Akio.

" _Viking 3 in position and ready."_ Reported Fred.

" _Viking 4 in position and ready."_ Said Alex.

"Solid copy." Replied Jason. "Any hurry on that Evac Fred?"

" _Negative."_

"Alright then. Fire on my command. Let's give 'em hell."

Jason settled behind his rifle and stared through the SUSAT sight. There were about 12 of them, all decked out if police riot gear. Only a few were carrying guns, the rest were armed with an array of kitchen knives, fire axes and riot shields.

"Pick your targets. Prepare to fire."

Jason sighted on a gang member. He was carrying a sporting shotgun. He was about to squeeze the trigger when he realized something. His weapon wasn't shouldered, he was carrying it at ease. Something was up... Movement at the corner of his scope.

He looked down, one of them was at his knee, his weapon raised... grenade launcher!

"EVERYONE DOWN!"Jason ducked down behind his barricade just as the grenadier fired. A metal cylinder, not much larger than a can of coke, broke through the glass window and landed on the rug in front of Jason. Jason looked at, expecting it to explode and shred him with shrapnel.

It didn't.

Instead, it started releasing pressurised steam.

"GAS! GAS! GAS!"

Jason reached into the utility pouch on his left thigh. He hurriedly pulled out his gasmask and put it on, pulling the securing straps as tight as they'd go. He was all of a sudden really happy the CO had made them bring gas masks to wear when they were handling corpses. His mask secure, he got behind his rifle again and started firing as the room filled with a cloud of tear gas.

 _Ka-Pow! Ka-Pow! Ka-Pow!_ One gang member collapsed. Jason could hear the other rifles on his team discharging. He counted the staccato shots on one L85, and the deeper shots of the HK 417 with Fred. That ment either Alex, or Akio wasn't shooting. Were they dead? Struggling to breath because of the tear gas? Dead?

Jason removed the thoughts of his potentially dying teammates from his head and started firing again. By now the gang members were starting to rush forwards, each with wearing a riot mask or something covering their face. Jason prioritized the one's with hand to hand weapons.

"Try to aim for joints or a flat surface." Said Jason into the radio, "you'll have better chance of defeating their armour."

Someone clicked their transmit stud twice, someone heard.

He kept firing.

There was a crash at the door, the sound of splitting wood. Someone was trying to get through the door. Jason grabbed his rifle and abandoned his firing point, he skidded into the hallway as a axe blade cut through the door, sending splinters flying everywhere. Jason flipped his rifle to full auto.

He cut loose a concentrated burst through the door. The door splintered as the bullets cut through it. A man screamed on the other side and the beating stopped, the ace still in the doorway.

 _Click!_

Jason ejected his empty magazine and was just pulling a fresh one from his webbing when the window smashed. Jason looked over to see a figure getting up having jumped through the window. Jason spun his rifle around and pulled the trigger... _click!_

The man rushed at Jason, axe in hand. He raised it above his head and brought it down towards him. Jason raised his rifle to intercept, blocking the axe but damaging his rifle. He threw it aside with the axe still in it. The attacker dived on Jason, forcing him to the floor and started clawing at his gas mask. Jason reached for his Glock, but found no purchase in the vacant holster.

The attacker then succeeded in ripping off Jason's mask. His eyes started running and his through felt like it was on fire shortly after. His victim stunned, the attacker then wrapped his hands around Jason's throat, trying to strangle him. Still feeling for his sidearm, Jason found purchase on what was next to it, his knife. He pulled it free and immediately jammed it into his attackers neck and wrenched it sidewise. His attacker's grip lost pressure, and Jason threw him aside.

No longer being strangled, Jason started to feel the effects of the tear gas in Ernest. His eyes were streaming, his throat felt like it was on fire and his skin burned. Through squinted eyes, he felt around for his mask. Once he found it he put it back on, limiting the effects of the gas to the damage that had already been done to him. As his vision began to clear, he found his knife and removed it from the attacker's neck. He whipped the blood off on his sleeve before retrieving his rifle.

After levering the axe out of the metalwork, he was amazed to find that, while rail system had been heavily damaged, it seemed to have saved the barrel and working parts. He pulled out a fresh magazine and reloaded. Once that was done he resettled his knife into its sheath and moved back through to his firing position.

He arrived at the shattered window and pointed the weapon outside to scan for targets, but there were none. He thought for a moment, before he realized they may have gone for the back door. He abandoned his firing position and headed for the back door. The door to the kitchen, in which the back door was located, was closed, probably by Mr. Wilson senior to limit the spread of the tear gas.

Jason came at it at a run, not slowing down as he kicked the door in off its hinges. Even through squinting burning eyes, he took in the scene in an instant; 3 hostiles lay dead either in the rear doorway or just inside. Mr. Wilson Senior and Mrs. Wilson were balled over, overcome by the effects of the tear gas. There were spent nine millimetre shell casings on the floor. Mr. Wilson had put up a fight, but they had no protection from the gas...

"Come on!" called Jason, moving to assist the stricken civilians. "We need to get out of this gas!"

Jason grabbed Mr. And Mrs Wilson by the arms and pulled them to their feet. Jason wrapped his left arm around Mrs. Wilson and supported her as they slowly moved forward towards the door. Once they were clear of the building, Jason could feel the build up of mucus and urge to vomit, another effect from the gas.

He removed his mask and vomited, snot and bile streaming from his mouth and nose as he doubled over. Just as he was getting a control of himself... a figure came around the corner of the house... with a machete...

Jason tried to bring his rifle to bear on target, but between the effects of the tear gas and helping Mrs. Wilson, there was no way that he'd get the bastard in time. The man charged at them...

 _BOOM!_

The man collapsed over on his side, most of his chest blown open.

Mr. Wilson came around the corner, shotgun smoking and kids in tow. He had a look of horror on his face, Jason knew it well, the first kill face.

"Mr. Wilson!" Jason shouted, snapping him back to reality before he could breakdown. "Take your family and get in the back garden. I got to go back for my team. If they ain't wearing camo, shoot em."

"I'm out of shells though." Replied Mr. Wilson as he took his wife from Jason. Jason sighed and handed him his rifle.

"Safety here, point and shoot."He said as he replaced his mask and headed back inside. The building was still thick with a cloud of tear gas. Visibility was limited, especially with the gas mask on. Jason rushed upstairs, he'd put his team on the top floor. He'd hoped that it would have protected them from the initial assault, now he hoped it protected them from the gas attack.

He pounded up the stairs and burst into the front room, before he could do anything, someone kicked him against the wall. He saw a hand moving in with a knife, it was fast. He grabbed it and locked it in place, he looked his attacker in the eye.

It was Akio.

"Sorry Corporal." She said as she moved the knife away and let him go. "Thought you were someone else."

Jason surveyed the room, it was a mess; broken windows, spent bullet casings, a spend tear gas canister... a mess. Then Jason saw Fred.

Alex was in the corner, giving Fred an injection of morphine.

"He hit?" asked Jason.

"He took a peppering from a shotgun that ricocheted. He got hit in the back and in the ass." Replied Alex, "He'll do for now, but he'll need the hospital in Chester to get them out."

"Right. Time to call for back up." said Jason. He moved to where Fred had put down his radio.

"What makes you think they're going to send help this time?" asked Akio.

"Oh they will." Promised Jason. He picked up the radio.

"Hello zero, this is Romeo Tango Viking. We're under attack from a heavily armed group of survivors armed with police riot gear, shotguns, blades and tear gas. We and the civilians we're protecting have been gassed. We have wounded, request immediate medivac. Over!"

There was a detectable pause...

" _Romeo Tango Viking. If you're going to come up with a lie to cut your patrol short, at least make it a better one than that... OWW!"_

The radio went quiet for a moment, then Squadron Leader, now Major Marsden came on the radio.

" _Viking,"_ he said, _"did you say you've been gassed? Confirm over."_

"Confirmed Zero," replied Jason, "The bastards are using tear gas and we've been exposed."

" _Roger Viking. Reinforcements and medivac on route."_

"Roger Zero. Tell 'em to come in shooting. Out."

Jason was just releasing the pressure on the transmit stud when A bottle came through the window. It smashed on the floor, and suddenly flaming liquid spewed across the floor and what was made of the curtains caught fire.

"They're using Molotov's!" shouted Jason. "Everyone out! NOW!" Jason dropped the mic and grabbed Fred and his kit. Chucking him over his shoulder and carrying him out fireman style with Akio and Alex following with the weapons and kit.

"The Wilsons are in the back garden shed. We need to get them and clear the area for evac."

"Easier said than done." replied Alex.

"Aww come on," said Akio, "I thought you loved a challenge."

"Yeah," she replied, "A challenge I can do!"

"Alright." Said Jason. "I'm gonna put Fred with the Wilson's. We will engage the enemies with everything we've got left."

They continued out back, Akio covering them as Alex and Fred moved toward the garden shed. They left Fred with the Wilsons and reclaimed Jason's rifle, they were going to need all the firepower they could get. Each armed with an L85, they stacked up against the side of the house.

"Everyone ready?" The 2 girls nodded. "Ok then. Let's go."

They emerged from round the corner and started firing. There were still a few of them in the front, throwing Molotov's at the house. Jason and Akio charged forward while Alex held back. Jason picked a target and ran towards him. He brought around a sporting shotgun, Jason sidestepped to the left just before the man fired and the pattern missed. Jason dove around him, wrapping an arm around the man's neck and violently twisting his victim's skull upward.

The man died with a _POP_ as his spinal cord was disconnected from his skull. Jason let him go as another man dived at him, armed with a machete. Jason jumped back, and fired into the man as he did. The man caught a burst of 5.56 bullets through his chest from the side.

Then he went down.

Jason didn't feel the blow that knocked him out. All he felt as he came to was a thundering ache in the back of his head, and all he saw was the sight of the man standing over him with the axe... before he's chest exploded and Akio dived on him, rifle in one hand, knife over her head in the other.

Akio was by his side a moment later, covered with blood. She was saying something, her lips were moving and she was looking at him, but Jason couldn't hear any of it. She removed his gas mask, making it easier for him to breath. The last thing he saw was an army Land Rover skidding through the gate, and Sergeant Sale jumping and rushing towards them...

Then everything went black.

* * *

 **Hi there :)**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, its my first time writing an extended fight scene like this, let me know if I got it right.**

 **Chapter 6 is in the works and I have many nefarious things planned... (insert evil laugh here)**

 **but seriously guys, I hope you enjoyed it and please drop a review, favorite and follow if you feel so inclined, and have a good day**

 **Jangocommando27**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Guys after you've read this chapter, can you please give me some feedback in a review. I need to know if I'm on the write track. End of Comm.**

* * *

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

 **Chapter 6: The worst of us**

 **Jason  
Chester Hospital  
Chester safezone**

 **Z-day + 27  
11:42**

Jason slowly returned to consciousness. His head was throbbing as he slowly opened his sticky eyes.

' _Where the hell am I?'_ he thought. He slowly began to sit up, but lay back down as a lance of pain shot up his side. He was just about to try sitting up a little slower when a doctor wearing a lab coat walked in.

"Ah," he said. "You're awake. Take it easy, I'm going to clean your eye's up. You've been out for a while."

The doctor washed his eyes with something and Jason rubbed the last of the sleep from his eyelids. He tried to speak, but all that he managed was a croak. The doctor handed him a plastic cup of water and helped him sit up to drink it.

"Thank you," said Jason, "Where am I and how long was I out?"

"You're in Chester Hospital and you've been out unconscious for 3 days."

"3 days..." mumbled Jason, then it all came back to him! The attack! The gassing! The Wilsons! His team! "My team! Are they..?"

"Fine," replied the Doctor. "You're team all received treatment for CS exposure and all the shot fragments were successfully removed from Mr. Hanson. The only reason we kept you under for 3 days was you suffered from extensive muscle strain and we weren't sure how bad the damage was from that blow you took to the head. Have you ever considered wearing a helmet?"

"Wouldn't have got the gas mask on quick enough if I did," replied Jason. While he normally didn't wear a helmet on patrols, he thought he might start now, as well as conducting some gassing training with his team.

"Where are my team now?" The doctor snorted slightly before explaining,

"They refused to leave your side for a full day until Major Marsden ordered them to get some rest and reassigned them to light duty until you woke up."

"Sounds like them," said Jason, happy that they were alright. Then he smiled sheepishly as his stomach growled.

"I'll have some food brought up. Also your CO wanted me to tell him when you regained consciousness," said the doctor. He departed, leaving Jason alone. He looked around the room, finding it to be sparsely decorated. Since the fall, the hospital had been set up inside what had been a modern office building that rose high above the walls and this, combined with its all glass exterior, afforded commanding views over Chester racecourse and the surrounding area. It was no wonder Major Marsden wanted to put mortar and sniper teams on the roof and upper floors.

A nurse arrived with a tray of food. She put the tray of food down on a small table and raised the back of the bed so Jason could sit up comfortably. She replaced the food in front of him before leaving with a smile, telling him to call if her if he needed anything.

Jason looked down at the food with a critical eye; a bowl of watered down vegetable soup, some ginger snaps, and a cup of weak orange squash... hardly the food of the gods, but Jason wolfed it down, not having had anything to eat for the last 3 days. Once he was finished (which couldn't have been longer than 2 minutes later) he put the tray aside and he was about to debate getting up and going in search for something to do, when Major Marsden walked in.

Jason struggled to bring his arm up in salute, not moving for 3 days and still being pumped full of meds had done a number on his reaction times. Marsden waved him down.

"At ease," he said. He was in what Jason referred to as his 'grandfather' mode. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just went 12 rounds with a gorilla and lost," replied Jason. Marsden smiled.

"You did a damn good job out there Mr. Rees," he said, "The Wilson family were very grateful for you and your team's efforts and we were able to evacuate all of them safely, as well as capture one of the men who attacked you."

Jason frowned, at least now they could get some answers.

"Has he yielded any information yet sir?"

"Not yet. He is in the custody of the police and will be offered a deal. Now then, since you've been here I've had you're team on light duty with Lance Corporal Long in command. You will resume command when the hospital sees fit to release you. You and your team will remain on light duty for another week. After that, assuming your fit for duty, You and your team are being reassigned to the special operations detachment."

"Special operations detachment?" asked Jason.

"its a new detachment under Staff Sergeant Sale's command." Explained Marsden. "Were creating it specially to handle groups like the ones who attacked you, You're being issued woodland DPM's over MTP, and you're being assigned as the unit's sniper with your team as your security detail. Understand?"

"Yes sir." Marsden nodded.

"I've left a new set of uniform and your boots with the nurses. I'm afraid that, with the exception of your boots, we had to cut the rest of your uniform and combat gear off when you were bought in. I understand your chest rig was a personal purchase?"

"It was sir," replied Jason. "It's not the end of the world though sir. The re-enactor and airsoft shop I bought it from is in the city. I've been meaning to go and see the owner, guess now I have an excuse."

"Indeed," said Marsden. "Before I go, I have one other thing for you." He reached into his pocket and removed something small and wrapped in plastic. He tossed it onto Jason's bed. It was a pair of dark green rank slides, with 3 black chevrons.

"Congratulations, Sergeant."

"Sir! I don't deserve these!" Jason protested, "All I did was get my team into a firefight, potentially started a war with a hostile group of people, and get my ass kicked! How is any of that deserving of a promotion?"

"Really?" asked Marsden, "because from how I see it, you successfully recovered survivors and also put yourself in harm's way to defend them. You also carried one of your wounded soldiers out of a burning building and then yes, got your ass kicked while leading a counterattack against the enemy. In my books, that's worth a promotion. Now get better and get back to work!"

"Yes sir!" replied Jason, he was smiling. Marsden was about to leave when Jason made a request;

"Sir, was my Glock recovered from the field?"

"Yes," said Marsden, "It's in the armoury. Why?"

"Could you have it brought up? I sleep better with it within quick grabbing range."

Marsden shook his head in humorous despair as he left.

* * *

 **Marsden**

 **Chester town hall  
Chester safezone**

 **Z-day + 27  
12:00**

Marsden marched into the town hall's council meeting room. He'd ordered an emergency meeting of the council, in light of what Jason and his team had encountered on their last patrol. The council was fully assembled and was

"Thank you for coming," he said, as he took his seat. "I've just been to the hospital. Sergeant Rees has regained consciousness."

"That's very good to hear," said Mrs. Reva. "But I think we have more pressing matters to attend to..."

"Such as why you see fit to hold 2 men on no charge and without trial," Mrs. Bell cut in. Marsden glared at her, and would like to know how she found out about the 2 prisoners they'd captured.

"Last I checked. We didn't need an excuse to hold enemy combatants as prisoners of war," he replied.

"They are not prisoners of war!" snapped Mrs. Bell, "they are survivors that you are holding without proper cause..."Marsden lost his temper;

"They fired on my soldiers! They gassed them and the civilians they were defending! They tried to kill them! I think that classes as proper cause." Mrs. Bell was about to bite back when Mrs. Reva cut her off.

"Major Marsden is right Mrs. Bell," she said, "His soldiers were attacked and 2 of them were put in the hospital for server injuries. However the justification for this attack is unclear, we need more information about these people, and must determine if they are a threat to the city."

Mrs. Bell was about to offer her opinion on the matter when there was a knock at the door. The door opened before anyone could invite them in. Marsden's adjutant, Private Jackson rushed in and snapped a hasty salute, before coming up and whispering something into Marsden's ear. He processed the new information, thanked Jackson and dismissed him.

"A scavenger team and their escort were just attacked," announced Marsden. "4 Dead, 3 wounded. A group of marauders, armed with shotguns, axes... and tear gas." An awkward silence fell over the room.

"I think it's time that we have a chat with our guest," said Mr. Clayton. "See what he knows." Chief Inspector Cook agreed.

"Hold on," said Mrs. Bell, "Just what are you planning to do? Torture the man?"

"No," replied Cook. "I'm going to give him a choice." He turned to Mrs. Reva.

"With you permission councillor, I'd prefer to question him now, while his information is still relatively fresh."

Mrs. Reva pondered his request, before looking Marsden straight in the eye and asked;

"What do you believe the worst case scenario for an attack would be Major?"

"They sneak up on us and start firing tear gas over the walls. Or get inside and attack from within," he said flatly. Mrs. Bell objected;

"We don't know that they have that capability!"

"We don't know that they don't," replied Marsden flatly, he turned back to Mrs. Reva.

"Do we have your permission to act ma'am? Or must we wait to react to a threat, rather than preventing it?"

"Do what you need to," said Reva, "But, and let me be clear on this, I do not expect or want to hear anything of any unwarranted aggression or other uncivilised acts towards the prisoner. Am I clear?"

"Perfectly Ma'am," replied Marsden. He and Chief Inspector Cook excused themselves, and Mr. Clayton departed soon after. Leaving just Mrs. Bell and Reva.

"You let them have far too much influence Charlotte," said Mrs. Bell.

"Perhaps," she agreed. "But like it or not they are the ones who protect us. Without them we, and everyone in this city, would be dead before long. And besides, it is the job of a soldier to give their lives for others... and who are we to stop them doing their jobs?"

* * *

 **Jason**

 **Chester safe zone  
Chester ****Castle**

 **Z-day + 27  
13:00**

Jason advanced through the castle, heading for the armoury.

Only an hour after Marsden's visit to him in the hospital, they'd discharged him. After being released, Jason had sought out the duty officer and requested a wall guard assignment. Unfortunately Marsden had relayed instructions to the officer that if Jason turned up requesting a wall assignment, to assign him to something less stressful and tiring. However, Jason was happy to have been assigned to armoury duty, rather than something like helping an officer with some administrative task, something which had become known as 'brass kissing' among the recon teams.

He crossed the castle car park toward the armoury building. Apparently they'd needed to move the armoury from inside the castle to its own building while he was unconscious. The new building had once been the old army cadet detachment building. Jason wondered why they'd had to move the armoury from the sealed vault inside the main castle.

He knocked on the door and waited for a moment before a man in his mid 50's with a great ginger beard dressed in a shooting jacket and a pair of jeans opened it.

"Mr. Kincaid?" asked Jason. He'd been told they had a civvie volunteer in charge of the armoury today.

"Aye," the man said in a heavy Scottish accent. "An who wad ye be laddie?"

"Sergeant Jason Rees sir," Jason replied, offering a hand to the scot. "I was just released from hospital and was told you could do with a hand here."

"Tha' so?" he asked. "Well 'en. Come in laddie."

"Thank you," Jason said as he followed the man inside the armoury. The building was set up with weapons racks in isles like a supermarket, allowing soldier to just grab a weapons from the rack easily. There was also a work desk in the corner where Kincaid had a camping stove and a small gas bottle set up.

"Ther' are som' weapon crates in the back room. Ye can start by sortin throug' 'em. Can I offer ye a cup a tea?"

"Certainly and yes please," said Jason. He moved into the back room and was greeted by mounds of ammo and weapon crates.

He smiled, this was going to be fun. He grabbed a crate and moved it into the main room, opening it up and examining the contents.

"6 L86A2 LSW's." He announced, "Where do you want them?"

"Just pu' it o'er 'ere," said Kincaid, motioning to a spot near the work bench. Jason moved the box of light machine guns over to the motioned spot.

"So," began Kincaid, "Why were ye in hospital anyway?"

"My unit was attacked on a search and rescue operation," replied Jason, omitting certain details so that word of a bunch of gas armed nut jobs operating in the area wouldn't get out. "I was injured in the firefight."

"Oh, so ye are the reason for that lot," Kincaid pointed to the mass of weapons boxes. Jason cocked his head confused, so Kincaid explained.

"We got word tha' bunch o' heavily armed rebels attacked you guys. T' stop 'em gettin tha' lot, we wen' back to Fox and Dale barracks and cleared everythin' oot. We got enough firepower 'ere to fight World War 3."

Jason moved over to one of the larger boxes and opened it up. Inside was a Javelin Anti-tank guided missile. He passed a low whistle, this thing was one of the most powerful infantry weapons in the British Army's arsenal, and could take out almost any armoured vehicle on the planet. Unfortunately it was useless for fighting zombies.

"I think we should stow these ATGM's upstairs," Jason suggested. "They'll be out of the way there but accessible if we should need them."

"Good idea," said Kincaid. "Get to it then." Jason sighed.

"Yes sir," Jason grabbed the first case and huffed it up the stairs.

...

"Ok, I've put all the Jav's upstairs along with the M72 LAWs," reported Jason as he re-entered the armoury. He found Kincaid at the work bench, looking at an L86A2 completely stumped.

"What's up?" asked Jason as he looked at the LSW. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it externally.

"It's a problem I've been asked t' solve," said Kincaid. "Squads in the field an' on the wall 're being issued with these for use as marksman rifles. Problem is, the new recruits be putting them on full auto an' burnin' through their ammo. The Major wants' me tae takeaway the option fur full auto fire. But I daen't know how."

Jason thought for a moment, then smiled.

"I know how." He said. Kincaid looked at him.

"How?"

"We got any L98A2's knocking around in here?" asked Jason. Kincaid pointed to a rack of them in the corner. Jason picked one up and moved it over to the work bench.

The L98 and the L86, were mechanically, practically the same weapon. The only differences were that the L86 had full auto, and a longer barrel with a built in bipod (which gave it its excellent accuracy) and the L98 didn't. However, because they were both SA80 rifles, it was possible to interchange parts.

Jason cleared the L98 and before charging it, then setting it down on the work bench. He pulled out the locking pins and then removed the L98's lower receiver. He then laid the parts down and repeated the procedure on the LSW. He then swapped the lower receiver's over and reattached them and reset the locking pins. He performed a quick function test on both guns.

"There you go," announced Jason, "One semi-auto only L86A2 and one full auto capable L98A2."

"Where did ye learn ta do tha'?" asked Kincaid, impressed with the work.

"One of my shooting instructors in America showed me the same trick on a MK 12 with the lower receiver from an M4. He used the same trick in Iraq and told me it can be applied to most rifle series that share internal mechanisms. Anyway we probably should go and test it."

"Later," said Kincaid. "I've got another thing for you to do." He led Jason into the armoury's back room and brought him over to a stack of weapons boxes. They were all marked with _'GCHQ armoury Delta'_.

"Whit dae ye make ay these?"asked Kincaid. Jason opened the box. Inside was a set of black suitcases. He pulled out one of them, took it to the work table and opened it. He was surprised at what he found.

Inside was a disassembled weapon: a folded stock and furniture for a rifle as well as barrel/ suppressor combination, bipod and optics. Jason's eyes widened, he knew what this was, and what it meant.

"An Arctic Warfare Covert," he almost whispered. This was a special ops rifle. He moved back to the case, there were some 5 more identical cases. He opened up another case baring the same markings; this one was stocked with Colt M4A1 SOPMODs. He found another stocked with various pistols including some FN Five Sevens, and another filled with weapons accessories such as rail mounted torches, varying optics, and suppressors. He went back to the work table and started assembling the covert in eager silence.

"What's sae special abit it?" asked Kincaid. "Tae me, it looks loch jist anither sniper rifle."

"This one is special," said Jason as he clicked the action on the rifle into the stock. "It's a member of the Accuracy International arctic warfare family chambered for 7.62 NATO rounds. This one however, is fitted with a 16 inch barrel with integral suppressor. With subsonic 7.62's this thing is as quiet as a .22. I can only think of 3 units that publically acknowledge its use." He looked at Kincaid.

"German KSK, American Delta Force... and the SAS."

"Special forces?" muttered Kincaid. "Ye 'hink special forces waur based at dale?"

"It's possible," said Jason. "It would also explain why I found an HK 417 during my run at Dale."

"That sae?" asked Kincaid. "I'm curioos t'kno ken hoo ye learnt sae much abit weapons. Why dornt we gab abit it over 'at cuppae tea?"

"Sounds good," said Jason. He finished assembling the covert and placed it down on the table on its bipod, before heading over to the corner where Kincaid was pouring a steaming brew.

* * *

 **Fireteam Viking**

 **Chester safe zone  
Chester Castel **

**Z-day + 27  
19:12**

Fred, Akio and Alex all returned to the barracks room together. They were surprised to find Jason sitting on his bunk, cleaning his rifle.

"About time you guys got here," he said as he put his rifle down.

"Well look who'd back from the dead," said Akio. "Congratulations Sergeant."

"Likewise, Lance," replied Jason. "So you guys all good?"

"Fine," replied Akio.

"Yeah, I'm alright," said Alex.

"I was fine after they got all the shot out of my ass," replied Fred. "Thanks for carrying me out by the way."

"Don't mention it," Jason smiled sweetly. "So what you guy's been doing while I've been out?"

"Training noobs," replied Akio with an evil grin.

"Yeah," said Fred. "It's been fun."

"Well then," said Jason, "If you guys have been training so much... GAS! GAS! GAS!" The 3 immediately threw off their hats and pulled their gasmasks out off their stowage pouches strapped to their left thigh and put them on. Jason timed them, and smiled.

"5 seconds," he announced. "Good. Right then, get those masks off and let's go get some chow." Jason stood up as the rest peeled off his masks.

"Ok," said Akio, "Let's go hit the mess..."

"The hell with the mess!" said Jason, "Let's go out into town and get some real food from a restaurant in town."

"Aww, what the hell," said Alex. "Could be fun, a night out on the town for once."

"Alright then," said Jason, "Let's go."

The team deposited the kit they didn't need, retaining their ration cards, sidearms and knives. Jason also noticed that the other 3 also retained their gasmasks, keeping them stowed in their left thigh pouches. They left the bunkroom and signed out of the castle before heading into town.

...

Over the last month since the outbreak, the temperature had noticeably dropped, even though it was May. Some people theorised that this was due to the sudden absence of mass air traffic and other major causes of global warming. This drop in temperature was the reason why most of the scavenger teams were going after insulation materials, warm clothing and fuel, to start preparations for what was predicted to be a tough winter.

In town, the team was offered an abundance of choice of where to eat. Before the fall, the centre of Chester had been packed with restaurants and shops of all nationalities and types. And while all the restaurants were more or less given the same food and served in the same portions, the different chef's often came up with different ways of serving the meal, making it more varied. This went someway to alleviate some of the tension and unrest amongst the civilian population.

After perusing the city streets for a while, the team decided on a small Italian restaurant just off from the main street behind the cathedral, Alex had heard some civvies talking about the good cooking here. The teenagers went inside and found the place to be packed. There was a buzz of conversation in the room that reminded them all of what it was like before the fall.

A waiter came up towards them, looking slightly concerned at the arrival of 4 armed teenagers in full camouflage.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Table for 4 please," replied Jason. The waiter looked slightly relieved.

"Certainly. Right this way," said the waiter. He motioned for the soldiers to follow. He led them through the restraunt to a table towards the back of the table. Some of the patrons cast an eye as the soldiers past, some of them particularly friendly.

"So what's on the menu tonight then?" asked Jason as he took his seat at their table.

"Tonight we have a meat and vegetable stew," said the waiter. "Can I see your ration cards please?"

The teenagers produced their ration cards, something that everyone in the city was issued with on a weekly basis. They governed the amount of food, drink (alcoholic or otherwise), clothes etc. that someone could withdraw on a weekly basis. However military rations were withdrawn on a different basis and thus, soldiers ration cards usually less fulfilled than the ones of the civilians and thus this was the source of some of the strife and angst towards the military. The waiter checked their ration cards and nodded in approval. He pulled out a notepad and pen.

"So what can I get you?"

"4 bowls of the stew and 4 diet cokes please," said Jason. The waiter took their orders and left to get their drinks, returning them shortly later.

"So then," asked Jason, "anyone want to know what I found in the armoury today?"

"Anything good?" asked Alex.

"Spec ops weapons," replied Jason, "12 cases of them. M4's and the like, and some suppressors."

"Those would be nice," said Fred. "Pull off some real call of duty shit with those."

"My thoughts exactly," replied Jason. The conversation continued and was soon enough supplemented by the arrival of their stew, which was, as predicted, better than what they would be serving in the mess hall. Akio continued regaling a tale of some recruit's screw up from one of the days Jason had been out in the hospital...

"So then," she said," I ordered the recruits to go get their combat kit, to see what they got. Most of them came back with webbing and chest rigs, but this one guy, came back with a full set of Osprey Body armour, complete with Kevlar plates."

"Really?" Jason was surprised, "that stuff is expensive."

"Yeah." said Akio, "Anyway so he comes out with it on. Everyone else is in lightweight webbing and this kid, who let it be said wasn't the fittest of people, is standing in line with full body armour. Anyway this armour was covered in mag pouches, utility pouches and all sorts of tactical gear."

"So what did you do?" asked Fred. He'd been in the hospital for a check up after the shot had been taken out of his backside.

"Simple," said Akio, "I ordered the lot of them to drop and give me 20. Needless to say the poor kid in full winter smock and body armour didn't get past 14. So I used him as an example, showing that there is such a thing as carrying too much kit."

"Fair enough," said Jason. "Too much kit will get you killed. Speaking of kit, how would you guys like to get some new kit? Seeing as we're being reasigned" The team leaned in abit more.

"We're listening," said Alex. "But what's wrong with our current kit?"

"Well," said Jason, "As I'm sure you're aware, the PLCE webbing you guys use is good but is an absolute nightmare to customise. I personally use a MOLLE system that I got and built myself, and the shop I got it from is within the city walls. Who's up from some shopping tomorrow?"

"Sounds good," said Fred. They were about to diversify into what pieces of kit they were going to get, when there was a loud crash. The team turned around to see an overturned table and an exceedingly angry man shouting at the waiter.

"What the hell is this?!" he shouted. "I ordered Meat and Potato stew! Not potato stew! There is no meat in this at all!"

"I'm sorry sir." Replied the waiter, "But we're low as it is and you've used your meat ration for the week..."

"Like hell I have!" the man shouted, "Now go get me a goddamn steak! Medium Rare!"

"Sir," said the waiter," We don't have enough meat left and even if we did you've used all your meat rations..." The man grabbed the waiter by the collar and got right up in his face.

"Do I look like I give a damn?" he growled menacingly. Fred stood up from his place at the table.

"Hey!" he shouted. The man looked over at Fred. "Let him go." The man dropped the waiter and looked towards Fred.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be kid?" the man asked. "Action man?"

"Like the man said," said Jason entering in to support Fred. "You've used up your meat ration. I suggest you leave and go find something else to eat somewhere else."

"And if I don't?" the man asked, "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll arrest you and turn you over to the police for disorderly conduct," replied Jason. Alex and Akio were also on their feet, and the man quickly realized that he was being threatened by a bunch of teenagers. He wasn't going to stand for this! He took a step towards them, then stopped. Jason's hand was resting on his pistol. The man grunted as he left the restaurant. Jason and his team sat back down and the buzz of conversation slowly returned to the restaurant.

* * *

 **Marsden**

 **Chester Police station  
Chester safezone**

 **Z-day + 27  
15:00**

Marsden and Cook waited patiently in one of the 'interview' rooms for their 'guest'. The guest in question had been a member of the group of thugs that attacked Fireteam Viking while they were protecting the Wilson family. He was the only one they were able to capture, as Viking either killed all the rest; or they got away...

But their guest knew where they went.

At that moment a uniformed policeman came in with their guest, who was blindfolded, wearing nothing of the original clothes he had worn on capture, but instead a set provided by the police. He was sat down in the chair opposite Cook and Marsden. The policeman removed his blindfold.

"Thank you officer," said Cook. "Dismissed." The policeman nodded and left the room, locking the door behind him. Cook then began proceedings.

"Good afternoon, Mr..."

"Jabba the Hutt," replied the prisoner. Cook sighed at the man's decision to be uncooperative. Marsden smirked slightly.

"Well then, 'Jabba'," said Marsden, "You've got yourself in a bit of a pickle. Firing on and assaulting British army personnel. Use of CS gas on innocent civilians, including I might add, children and a pregnant woman. Failure to cooperate on capture, It's not looking good for you."

"Bullshit are they army!" replied Jabba, "They're just kids! You're just a bunch of thugs yourselves!"

"I can assure you," said Marsden, "They _are_ British army personnel. And I'm sure they would like to _thank_ you personally for gassing them." Jabba shuddered at the thought slightly. He remembered seeing that Asian girl breaking necks and bones in hand to hand combat with fury he'd never seen the likes of before.

"However," Cook cut in. "While your actions have set you on a certain path, you needn't stay on it. The way I see it, you have 3 choices: 1. You turn yourself into me and the police, tell us what we need to know and go take your punishment, and eventually you'll be repatriated as a citizen in the safe zone. Or 2. You surrender to him," he gestured to Marsden, "as a prisoner of war."

"Oh yeah?" asked Jabba. "And what's option number 3?"

"Oh," said Marsden in an uncaring attitude. "We take you down as a terrorist. And I'm not sure the Geneva Convention applies anymore, meaning we can do whatever we want."

Jabba shuddered again slightly before he spoke, "What does it matter anyway?" he said, hanging his head, "To them I'm already dead. But if they find out I helped you they'll kill her."

"You mean her?" asked Cook. He produced a photo of an attractive woman in her mid 20's, about the same age as Jabba. His eyes went wide and he looked away. They knew this was her.

"From what we've gathered from the Wilson family," Said Marsden, "your gang is in control and provides protection, and uses the people to their own ends. If you tell us what we need, we can get them out and take down your former colleagues."

"Can you help her?" asked Jabba.

"If we get there in time. Yes," promised Marsden. "Now will you co-operate?"

Jabba gave a heavy sigh. He looked back up at Cook and Marsden; they could tell he was a man who'd made his mind up.

"Yes," said Jabba, "What do you want to know?"

* * *

 **4 hours later**

 **Marsden's office  
Chester Safezone**

Marsden returned to his office. 'Jabba' had given everything he needed to know. He called Private Jackson in.

"Have Fireteam Wolf report to briefing room 2 in 20 minutes." He ordered, "I want them ready to roll on an extended close target recon at first light tomorrow."

"Yes sir," said Jackson "Where are they going sir?"

"The Broughton safezone."

"I thought it was overrun."

"It was."

* * *

 **Hello there**

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter of HOTD: The British Outbreak.

 **As I said at the start, If you've got any critical feedback please give it to me in a review, if you don't and think its all great, please say so in a review. I'm one of those guys who is desperate for feedback, seriously just ask my old history teacher, he'll tell you.**

I would like to thank my beta reader, Draco38 for his continually outstanding level of proof reading, you are awesome bro.

Anyway, If your reading this at time of release, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 **From Jangocommando27**


	7. Chapter 7

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

 **Chapter 7: tick, click, boom**

 **Fireteam Viking**

 **Chester City Centre  
Chester safezone**

 **Z-day + 28  
09:27**

Once breakfast and the morning briefings had been completed, Viking headed out into town, heading for the airsoft shop Jason had told them. They left the barracks and crossed town, turning off the main street and onto a back street. They came to a shop, but the windows were blocked by a corrugated steel shutter. The shop sign read _'Yates' Airsoft, Re-Enactment and shooting shack'._

"It looks like their closed," said Fred, slightly disappointed.

"Or they were never open," said Akio emotionlessly. Jason shook his head.

"No," said Jason, "Paul lived in a flat above the shop." Jason walked up to the shop door and knocked loudly on the door.

There was no answer so Jason knocked again.

"Mr. Yates?" he called. "Open up!"

"Go away!" called a voice from inside. Jason chuckled.

"Paul you damn sloth! Open up!" He shouted.

"Who... That you Jason?"

"Who else you barmy trollop? Get down here!"

A moment or two later, the door was unlocked and a middle aged man with blond hair and a grown out and untidy beard appeared at the door.

"Come in dude," said Yates. "Good to see you made it." He offered a fist.

"Likewise mate," said Jason, fist bumping his friend. "This is my fireteam. Akio, Alex and Fred. We need some new gear, and you got the best in town."

"Well then come on in." Said Paul. He moved aside and let them into the shop. Yates flipped a light switch and the lights came on.

"What the..?" said Alex as the lights came on. "I thought power was out for the city except the hospital, the town hall and parts of the castle."

"Solar cells on the roof," said Yates.

"Paul was one of those cupboard doomsday preppers," explained Jason. "He's even got a bomb shelter in the basement." He perused the shelves of military kit. He turned to Yates.

"Anyway mate. We need some woodland DPM combat kit and some MOLLE vests, pouches. We each got our own needs."

"Ok," said Yates. "I see what you mean. Have a look around in front and out back. What do you need?"

"I need a DPM vest or chest rig with room for STANMAG's, kit and some MOLLE pouches for me to put mags for my sniper rifle on it," said Jason. "Got anything like that?"

"I got just the thing," said Yates, "It's not DPM, but it's got everything else."

"Let's see it," said Jason. Yates smiled and retreated back into the store room. He returned a few moments later with a chest rig. It was dark green, with 5 single mag pouches along the front with quick release fasteners and a MOLLE along the front. It also had 2 utility pouches with MOLLE mounts at the side.

"You had the old TT MK2 M2 Rig didn't you?" asked Yates. Jason nodded.

"Well this is the Tasmanian Tiger Chest Rig MK 2 M5. It features: 2 adjustable padded straps with quick release, 2 multipurpose pockets, fold out pockets for armour plating if you have it, 5 STANMAG pouches with toggle quick release, and all the MOLLE mounts you could need."

"Sounds good mate," said Jason, taking the rig. "My old M2 served me well. The only differences are the extra mag pouch and toggle release instead of Velcro right?" Yates nodded.

"I'll take it," said Jason. "The open back means I can wear my webbing as well and carry a patrol bag. Cheers mate."

"Anytime bro," said Yates. "Anything else you guys need?"

"Yeah," said Jason. "You got any woodland DPM gear?" Yates smirked.

"Oh yeah," he said. "Follow me." He led Jason to the back room, which like the front was filled with racks of combat uniforms, airsoft and deactivated guns and boxes of other combat gear. He led him over to a rack of woodland DPM UBACS and fatigues.

"I got these in just before it all went tits up out there. These are the same cut as the army's MTP PCS fatigues and UBACs, making them comfortable, but printed with DPM woodland," said Yates. "Is this what you had in mind?"

"Better," said Jason. "You got my sizes right?"

"Yup."

"Ok. I'll take 2 trousers, UBACS and fatigue tops in my sizes, and I'll send my guys each in to get some in their sizes."

"Got it dude," said Yates.

"And mate," said Jason as he turned to his friend. "Thanks for this."

"I ain't doin' it for free," said Yates, laughing slightly. "You best have something to trade."

"Oh don't worry we do," promised Jason. He returned into the main shop and helped his team pick out gear. After over an hour of perusing, they eventually each settled on some gear. Fred picked out another of the same chest rigs as Jason along with a mag dump pouch that would loop around his belt and some extra pistol mag pouches. He also picked out a water bladder to complete his load our.

Alex had gone for a Woodland DPM Osprey MK 3 vest she found, and rigged it up with as many utility and medic pouches as she could fit onto it. Normally this would have compromised the number of magazines she could carry, but Yates had found some double STANMAG pouches for her to use to make up for it. She also found some Velcro backed medic badges to wear.

Akio's kit however was the most specialised. She picked out a lightweight vest, using double mag pouches to keep the amount of weight she was carrying on her upper body down; she planned to use her webbing to carry the rest. But one thing she did pick out was a Vietnam style machete that she found with a MOLLE compatible scabbard. She attached it to the vest's back so she could grab it easily from her shoulder.

As well as his vest, Jason also picked up some rubber magpuls, some velcro backed badges such as blood type and a subdued Union Jack. After they gathered everything they wanted, they gathered at the counter with Yates.

"Well that is a lot of stuff," said Yates. "Hope you've got stuff to trade."

"We do," said Jason. He swung his patrol bag from its place on his shoulder, as did Akio. They opened them up and brought out 3 white cardboard boxes. Mr. Wilson crocked an eyebrow so Jason opened one. Inside were dozens of plastic vials filled with blue liquid.

"100 vials of shower gel," said Jason as he opened a second box of exactly the same contents. He opened the third; it was the same except the vials contained white liquid. "And 50 of shampoo. All scavenged from a hotel we bunked in a few nights ago."

Yates considered the offer, before shaking his head. "Sorry. But all together this is over a thousand pounds worth of gear. I'm gonna need more than that."

"Ok," said Jason. He pulled another box out of his bag. "Let's make it 100 shampoo vials."

"Still gonna need something more," said Yates.

"Ok then," said Jason, "How about this? We're going to spread the word about your excellent products and more soldiers will come, wanting gear. And they will have stuff to trade."

"Alright," said Yates, "What else you got." Jason sighed. He was starting to get annoyed at his old friend now.

"Guy's wait outside a minute," said Jason. The team all shared a glance before they exited the building, leaving Jason and Yates alone.

"Look mate," said Jason, "I've given you a fair trade offer."

"You and I both know you have access to guns and ammo Jason," said Yates, "Throw some 7.62 in there and we've got a deal."

"You know I can't do it," replied Jason. "But I can do something for you. I can keep your secret from the police and military." Mr. Yate's eyes went wide.

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Yes you do," Jason cut him off. "You and I both know some of those de-acs aren't all that deactivated are they? What do you think would happen if the military or the police were to find out about that? Answer. They'd take away everything and if _they_ ever got through the walls. You'd be totally defenceless. So how about this? 100 shower gel and 50 shampoo as payment. Another 50 Shampoo as a sign of good faith. A share in other swag if and when we get some. And I don't blab about your secret stockpile of illegal guns. That sound like a good trade?"

"I'd say so," said Yates with a frown on his face. "But I would have accepted your offer anyway. I've known long enough to know you're a good customer and a man of your word. I'll give you the gear for that. Deal?"

"Deal," said Jason. The 2 men shook on it.

"I also need one more thing," said Jason, "have you still got that old 50's dog tag machine?"

"Old Bessie?" asked Yates. "Yeah still got her. You want some tags made?"

"Please," said Jason, "A set for each of my fireteam. I'll get you what they need stamping with."

"Ok," said Yates. "I can do that. On the house. And I'll throw in these." He picked up something from behind his desk and handed it to Jason. Inside was a set of 4 round velcro backed unit badges. Each bore a red radioactive symbol in the centre of the black circle. Around the edge in white writing were the words _'Zombie Outbreak Response Team.'_

Jason laughed and accepted the gift. He called his team back in and told them the deal was done. They collected their gear and bags and departed after giving Yates the info they wanted on their dog tags. They returned to the barracks to finish kitting out their new gear.

* * *

 **Fireteam Viking**

 **Special Operations Detachment operations room  
Chester safezone**

 **Z-day + 28  
13:00**

Fireteam Viking reported as ordered to the special operations detachment's operations room. From the outside it looked like any other briefing room in the castle, except the window was covered over. Jason knocked at the door.

"Come in," said a voice from inside. They opened the door and stepped in. The room featured a large table in the middle with chairs around it. On the table was a collection uniform, weapons and other gear as well as maps, some of which were also pinned up on the wall. Standing in the room was Staff Sergeant Sale.

"Ah, Fireteam Viking," he greeted, as he glanced down at his watch. "Right on time."

"Of course Staff," said Jason. He snapped to attention and his team followed suit. "Congrats on your promotion by the way."

"Likewise," said Sale. "Stand easy." He looked around Viking, noting their new DPM uniforms.

"Well I guess I won't have to issue you new DPM's. Where did you get those?"

"We know a guy," said Jason. "Although we do need smocks."

"Well I've got those. And I've got more kit for you." Said Sale. He picked up 4 pieces of paper "As special operations troops, you may be required to go undercover. So take these into town and get yourselves 2 sets of civvies, plain as you like. Now then, weapons." He moved over to a corner of the table.

"You'll keep you L85's for conventional duty, but for more covert operations, we have these." He picked up an M4 SOPMOD from a rack in the corner. "Each is fitted with a suppressor and a holographic sight. Feel free to put on any other accessories you wish but I'd advise you to keep it light and to a minimum." He put the M4 back on the rack.

"Now then, pistols." Sale continued. He moved to the table and removed a pistol from its holster and held it up to show. "Sig 226 tactical, each comes with a thread on suppressor. You'll be issued these instead of Glock's because of it."

Jason grumbled slightly. Sale smiled at him. "I know you love your Glock Jason, but let it go or keep it as backup. I used a Sig in Afghan and it never failed me."

"Ok..." groaned Jason. Sale had just the thing to pick him up.

"By the way Jason. As the detachment sniper, you get choice of your weapon for each mission, but I got this for you to use as your standard." Jason looked up as Sale picked up a large rifle bag and handed it to Jason. Jason took it and placed it down on the table. He opened it up and all sorrow at losing his Glock evaporated as he lifted his new rifle from its bag.

"An L115A3," Jason said happily.

"What's so special about it?" asked Akio, thinking Jason was over reacting. Jason smirked.

"The L115A3 rifle was developed by Accuracy International for the British Army. It's also known as the Arctic Warfare Magnum due to its .338 Lapua Magnum round which is fed from a 5 round box magazine. While it's stated as being able to provide effective fire up to a range of 1,500 meters. However the current record for the longest range sniper kill, at a range of 2,470 meters was achieved with this rifle by Corporal of Horse..."Sale cut him off.

"Alright, alright, you know your stuff." He said, "Jeez, you're a bigger gun nerd than our unit's Yank sniper in Helmand. Anyway, now I've got a briefing for you. Gather around the maps and grab a seat." The team moved to their chairs while Jason hung back a moment to put his new rifle back in its bag before settling at the table.

"Alright then," said Sale, suddenly a lot more serious than a few seconds ago. "This Special Operations Detachment has been set up to deal with hostile groups of survivors who threaten the safezone, its people, and interests beyond the wall. By means of clandestine observation, interdiction, and if necessary, direct action. You understand?"

Viking nodded. They understood the seriousness of their new assignment. Sale acknowledged their understanding and continued.

"Currently, the detachment consists of 3 fireteams; Yourselves, Fireteam Diamond and Fireteam Wolf. And our priority is the gathering of information on the group that attacked you."

The team sat up a little straighter. They had a burning desire to get back at the bastards who gassed them since that firelight.

"Have we gathered any information from the man we captured?" asked Jason. Sale nodded.

"We offered him a deal, and he squealed like the proverbial pig. The group is based at the Broughton safezone."

"I thought it was overrun," said Akio. Last they heard, the Broughton safezone, based in the Broughton retail park, had been overrun after some infected got in. The military had been meaning to mount a recon mission to the area to find out if it would be feasible to mount a large scale scavenger mission to the massive hypermarket and large department stores in the park, but thus far it hadn't happened.

"It was," said Sale, peaking Viking's curiosity.

"Currently, Fireteam Wolf is providing a close target recon on the safezone. From what they've reported, it seems that the group has barricaded themselves inside the Tesco hypermarket and the immediate surrounding area. As of now, Fireteam Wolf are in position on the roof of another department store across the way, watching and reporting back twice a day. You are due to relive them in 2 days time."

"What else do we know about this group?" asked Jason.

"We know that there are about 70 or so survivors," said Sale, "of those, only about 25 are the armed thugs who attacked you. The rest seem to be survivors, mainly women and children, who barricaded themselves inside the Tesco when the defences were breeched. The armed gang arrived sometime later and, according to our prisoners and the Wilson's, offered 'protection' in exchange for supplies and a place to stay..." Sale seemed to grimace a bit before continuing.

"Although apparently it's common for the men of this gang take certain... 'liberties'... at the expense of their female protectorate."

Jason glanced and saw Akio and Alex tense up slightly at the information, especially Akio.

"Alright," said Jason, storing the new information away. "Any new info on their weapons or other equipment? Or on how they got their hands on teargas?"

"Yes actually," said Sale. "When the safezone was originally being defended, the powers that be stationed both a counter terrorism unit and a riot police unit. Turns out they brought their tear gas with them, thinking it would be effective against infected. It wasn't, so they put it aside. It's these remaining stores that these thugs are using. They've also got some sniper rifles, sub machine guns, assault rifles and side arms from the counter terrorism unit, as well as what we've already seen them using."

"Well bugger," said Jason, "So much for being able to overpower them with superior firepower."

"We've still got the mortars and missiles," said Akio, "Why can't we use those?"

"Too high a risk of civilian casualties," replied Sale. "Anyway, our role for now is to watch, wait and gather Intel. Let the Brass and bureaucrats work out what they want to do. Understand?"

"Yes Staff," replied Jason.

"Any other questions?" asked Sale. There were none.

"Right then. I suggest you study up on the maps of the area around the Broughton retail park just in case. Oh, and Sgt. Rees, who are you going to have as your spotter?"

"Fred," replied Jason. Fred was surprised but Jason had made his mind up about this a while ago.

"You made good use of the 417 in that last firefight," explained Jason, "You're a good shot besides and I need someone who can take over the long gun if I get injured or killed and still lay down effective fire. Hang on to the 417."

"Alright then," said Sale. "Study up on the maps and kit, keep training. Carry on."

"Yes Staff." Jason and Viking stood to attention as Sale left the room.

"Alright then," said Jason. "Fred, run back to the bunk room. Grab the 417, its mags and their pouches, your rig and my rig. Akio, study up on maps and find me at least 4 potential sniper positions no less than 200 metres away from the target but no farther than 800. Alex, for now help Akio but find out when Fireteam Wolf's next report come in, be there when it does and relay to me. Clear?"

"Yes Sergeant!" they chorused

"Good. Crack on." Alex and Fred were out of the room in a flash and Akio looked over the maps.

"What are you going to do?" Akio asked. Jason smirked and moved back to his rifle and removed it from its bag.

"Get my new rifle set up how I like it."

* * *

 **Fireteam Viking**

 **Chester City Centre  
Chester safezone**

 **Z-day + 29  
07:15**

"Fireteam Viking! Get up!"

Jason and the others shot up in their bunks at the hammering on their bunkroom door and the voice of the person on the other side. Jason was about to get up and give the person a piece of his mind when they entered and it turned out to be Staff Sergeant Sale.

"Viking!" He was almost shouting. "Get up and dressed. Briefing in the ops room in 10 mikes! Be ready to deploy within the hour!"

He departed as quickly as he'd arrived, leaving a slightly surprised and dishevelled fireteam in his wake.

"Well you heard the man!" shouted Jason as he leaped up from his camp bed. "Uniforms on and kit up at the double!"

Viking dressed into their combat fatigues quickly, each only taking a moment to strap their sidearms and gas masks to their thighs before almost sprinting to the ops room. They burst into the room to find Staff Sale, Major Marsden and Fireteam Diamond were already there.

"Just on time Viking," said Sale. "Grab a seat." They sat themselves in the empty seats and Marsden took over the briefing.

"As of this time," he said, "I am moving the special operations detachment to full alert. This morning, Fireteam Wolf failed to make their night report, as of now they are 20 minutes late."

"Have they missed a report before sir?" asked one of Diamond's members.

"No," said Marsden, "And that is what has us worried. It could be that they are having hardware or other difficulties. Or, and unpleasantly likely given the nature of their mission, they have been discovered and something has happened. To this end, unless we receive a transmission within the hour, Fireteam Viking will be deployed to Wolf's last known position." Marsden turned to look Jason straight in the eye.

"You're orders are to investigate what happened to Fireteam Wolf and report back, then execute further instructions. Fireteam Diamond will help you prepare and act as a QRF if required. Any questions?"

"Rules of engagement sir?" asked Jason. Marsden sighed,

"Avoid engagement if possible," he said, "but if unavoidable, shoot to kill. No witnesses on route, but on the return run however, standard survivor procedure is in effect. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Diamond and Staff Sale will help you prepare. You're in command Sergeant. Carry on."

Marsden departed and left Viking to it. Having Diamond around to help would be a huge help, 2 of them were ex-marine cadets, another was ex-army and their leader was one of the professional soldiers who came in with Sale. Jason started issuing out orders.

"Fred," He began. "Take one of the Diamonds and run to the armoury. We need as many and much mags, ammo and grenades as you can carry. Alex, run back to the barracks room and grab our kit. Body armour, webbing, patrol bags, my rifle, everything. Akio, go to stores and a set of NV goggles, compasses, FUBAR kits, first aid kits, anything that looks good and enough of it for each of us. Staff Sale, I'd like to go with some assault details before I prepare my kit. Get to it."

Each person went off to their tasks and Fireteam Diamond jumped to help. Jason and Sale looked over and discussed how and where they would deploy, eventually deciding that they would be dropped by Land Rover 2.5 miles from the target, from there they would tab to their target, investigate on what happened to Fireteam Wolf and, if necessary, take over their mission.

Soon, everyone returned from their tasks and Viking started gearing up. Jason pocketed 10 magazines for his M4, placing 5 in the 'ready pouches' of his vest and the other 5 in the 'reserve pouches' on his webbing. He also pocketed 2 spare mags for his Sig before moving to his L115A3 sniper rifle. He stacked 4 magazines in 2 double pouches. He threaded them to the MOLLE system on his rig's utility pouches, so that he could easily get at them while prone. He put 6 more mags packed mags into his patrol bag, as well as a spare box of .338 Lapua Magnum rounds. He also stuffed a Med-kit, combat smock, rations and other combat accessories and essential kits into his patrol bag. The last thing he added was a bed roll mat that he attached to the underside of his patrol bag.

Everyone on Viking took similar kit with only small variations. Akio took a pair of bolt cutters, and a particularly menacing looking Kukri that she had pilfered from the museum's store room and spent almost every spare waking moment sharpening. Alex's kit included a large stock of first aid kit and a collapsible stretcher, should they need to carry out any wounded. Fred took their Bowman radio set as well as a stock of 7.62 rounds and a suppressor for his HK.

Just as he stuffed his FUBAR survival kit into his fatigue trouser pocket, Jason muttered a prayer to whatever lord or gods that were ruling over their undead infested world that Fireteam Wolf's communication's silence was due to a communications or technical fault, and not something more sinister.

...

 **2 hours later**

"Contact front. 3 of them."

"Take 'em out."

 _Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!_

3 infected undead collapsed to the ground from a neat headshot.

"Clear. Move up." Fireteam Viking emerged from behind the trees of the forest they were moving through and continued forward. They'd been dropped by Land Rover an hour ago and had headed towards the last known position of Fireteam Wolf; a first floor room of an office building overlooking the site.

They formed into their single line; Akio on point followed by Jason, then Alex and Fred bringing up the rear. Their progress had been slow due to in part the need to maintain stealth but also from the inordinate number of infected in the area that they had either been forced to bypass, or eliminate then hide the bodies enough so that they wouldn't be easily found.

They came to the forest edge. Jason motioned for them to go prone and spread out into line abreast. Akio pulled a pair of binocular from her webbing and surveyed the area. She handed them to Jason.

"It's just as Wolf described." She said. Jason took the binoculars and had a look for himself.

The entire shopping centre was mostly surrounded by a single chain link fence and the vehicle entrances were barricaded with cars and vans. Further inside the fence was the perimeter that the police had set up, surrounding the Tesco extra hyper market. It too originally consisted of a single chain link fence, however it appeared the survivors inside had attached wooden pallets to the wire fence to reinforce them. There were some people on the roof with rifles and binoculars as well as in a scissor lift that was extended to give a watch post just above the top of the wire wall.

There were dozens of infected, maybe hundreds, both against both fences but also milling around in the vast car parks of the retail parks. For the most part however, they were pressed against the perimeter fence, trying to force their way through wherever they ran into it.

"So what's our next move?" asked Akio. "No way can we get through to the OP without going through them."

"Maybe. Maybe not," murmured Jason. He scanned around abit more with the binoculars. He turned to Fred.

"Hey Fred. See that KFC drive through over there? The booth window?" Fred set his HK up, deploying the bipod before looking through the scope for the fast food restaurant Jason had mentioned.

"I got it," he said. "You want me to shoot it?"

"Not yet," replied Jason. "Here's how we're going to play this guys. Fred shoots the window and the sound of the glass breaking will hopefully draw a group of the infected toward it and open a gap in the fence we can cut through. When a gap presents itself, we will move down quickly. Diamond formation; Akio on point, me on the left, Alex on the right and Fred in the rear. We'll cover Akio as she cuts a hole in the fence. Everyone clear?"

"What if the glass shattering isn't enough to get their attention?" asked Fred. Jason had another look through his binoculars.

"See those red gas bottles?" he asked, "Shoot them. Them going off will make way too much noise if anything, and get the attention of the survivors inside the compound. Anything else?"

The team remained silent.

"Ok then. In your own time Fred."

Fred moved his rifle scope's crosshairs over the window. He mumbled statistics to himself as he prepared to fire (a habit he'd picked up from Jason.).

"About 50 metres to target... Almost no wind..."

 _Pfft!_

The window shattered, glass ricocheting and shattering on the ground. The sound echoed in the building and a few of the infected turned away from their instinctual assault on the wire and instead headed towards the sound of shattering glass.

"Prepare to move," ordered Jason. The team watched and waited, willing more of them to move away to investigate the sound. After a moment, an opening appeared.

"Move!"

They sprang up and started forward at a fast walk. They smoothly moved into a diamond formation, with suppressed weapons raised and at the ready to dispatch any infected that got too close. As they got closer, Akio slung her rifle and withdrew her bolt cutters. They got to the fence and Akio went to work. Unfortunately the sound of metal wire being cut was drawing their attention.

"I've got 8 or so on this side." Reported Alex.

"12 more coming from the forest." Added Fred.

"Suppressed weapons free," ordered Jason. There were another 9 or so coming from his side. He clicked off his weapon's safety and they each started firing, their suppressed M4's coughing round after round in a muffled cacophony of fire. Even as they fell however, the infected kept coming, getting uncomfortably close.

' _Wish I had my L85 and its bayonet.'_ thought Jason as he popped another infected. He really didn't like using the M4 in hand to hand because of its plastic parts and inability to mount a bayonet due to the suppressor. He preferred the all metal L85 because it could; A) mount a bayonet, and B) if you clubbed an infected over the head with it, you were pretty much guaranteed to crack its head open and kill it, try the same with the M4, you'd probably break the stock.

"Any time Akio..." cautioned Jason as he popped another one barely 5 meters away.

"Got it," she replied. "It'll be tight, and we'll need to remove our kit to fit, but we'll make it."

"Akio, through and clear the other side. Fred with her, then Alex and I'll go last. MOVE!"

Akio moved through the hole she'd made. It was just big enough for them to crouch through, but there was an unattractive risk of getting stuck on the edges. Akio went through with Fred hot on her heels, pausing only to remove his patrol bag and throw it and Akio's through the hole before diving through himself. He cried in pain as a shard of jagged metal tore through his uniform and into his arm. He managed to pull himself free of the metal entanglement before falling to the ground, cursing to himself as blood bled heavily from the wound.

"Alex! See what you can do for him!" ordered Jason. Their medic waited for a moment before dropping her medical bag, pushing it through and then following it through herself. Jason, now painfully aware that he was the only one left on this side and with infected closing from all angles, threw off his patrol bag, lobbed it through the hole and crawled through after his friends. He made it through; just as an infected collapsed down to bite him where he'd been less than a second ago.

Jason rolled over onto his back and pointed his rifle back through the hole. He fired once into the infected that was on the floor before he trained it on the rest. While they had resumed their assault on the wire fence, encouraged by the presence of Jason and the others, they had either not noticed the hole or were too brain dead to take advantage of it.

Taking advantage of their momentary safety. Jason stood up and moved over to check on Fred.

"Akio, cover." Akio nodded and stepped up to cover their 'followers' while Jason kneeled down beside Fred while Alex was dressing his wound.

"How bad is it?" He asked.

"No more than a decent scratch boss," Replied Fred through gritted teeth. Jason looked over at Alex for a more accurate and less brave faced assessment.

"Pretty deep cut," replied Alex, "but I don't think he'll need stitches. I'll give him some pain killers, sterilise the wound and wrap it up."

"Ok, quick as you can," said Jason. He turned to face Fred. "Can we have one bloody op where you don't get you're arse fragged?"

"Up yours!" laughed Fred as Alex gave him an injection of some pain killers.

"Hey," replied Jason with a serious face but a humorous voice, "that's up yours Sergeant."

"If you guys are done messing about," cautioned Akio, "I think we should ditch our fan club groupies and get on with the job. Don't you, Sergeant?"

"Agreed," said Jason, "Kit up." He turned back to Fred, "You good?"

Fred grunted as he stood up and picked up his kit and rifle. "Feel like shit. But I'll do."

"One sec," replied Alex as she shoved some last items into her medic pack. She the zipped it up and threw it on her back, then picked up her M4. "Ready."

"Right. Let's move," ordered Jason. "Tactical movement and use of cover. These ain't infected we're dealing with."

"Where the hell is Diamond?" asked Fred.

"Probably on top of the Airbus factory, watching the park from long range, ready to come save us if this goes all tits up." replied Jason. "Let's move."

The team started moving towards the last known location of Fireteam Wolf. They used the buildings for cover and skirted behind bins and other tit bits of cover they could get, careful to avoid the look outs. They manoeuvred forward, occasionally dispatching the occasional infected in their path before dragging it behind cover so the look outs wouldn't see a suspiciously dead infected. After roughly a quarter of an hour of evading and stealth, they came to the back off the office block that Wolf had been using as their OP.

They moved into the building through a back door fire exit and moved through the building. As they swept through, they found evidence of a battle; spent 5.56 NATO rounds and 12 gauge shells, the odd bullet holes or shot damage... blood splatter... it had defiantly hit the fan. They swept through the building room by room, following the trail of battle, blood and carnage, until they came to the room where Wolf had been using. The room had been an office once, but now it was an observation post/ sniper nest. One of the filing cabinets had been overturned under the window so a roll mat could be put down on it to make the perch more comfortable for long periods of lying prone while watching the target. Aside from that everything was gone, all of Wolf's kit, Wolf themselves, and all amidst signs of a firefight.

"Let's call it in," said Jason. "Let's unpack and get command on the horn." They started putting their bags down and setting up. As Fred got the radio set tuned in and getting on the horn to command while Jason unzipped his L115A3 from its rifle bag. He loaded a magazine and cycled the bolt. He then unrolled his bed mat, placing it on the side on filling cabinet before climbing on top and placing his rifle on its bipod. He adjusted himself and adjusted his scope for the distance.

"Boss," said Fred as he came along side Jason, handing him the mic for the radio set. "Sale on the horn."

Jason took the handset in his left hand while keeping his right hand near the trigger and eye down the scope.

"Hello Sierra Sierra, this is Romeo Tango Viking one. We are in Fireteam Wolf's OP. It looks like a firefight took place here. Blood on the ground and spent round and shot casings all over the place. No sign of Wolf or any of their kit. Please advise, over."

" _Hello Romeo Tango Viking one. This is Sierra Sierra._ _Good work guys. Set up in another office and keep an eye out for any sign of Wolf. Call it in if anything happens. Out."_ The radio went dead and Jason handed back the radio to Fred.

"Well let's move into an office upstairs and get comfortable and wait for something to happen. Fred, get your HK set up."

They didn't have to wait long.

Less than 5 minutes later, Fred spotted something.

"I've got movement." He said, "Front entrance. Man with a hostage."

Jason panned his rifle over. Through the scope he saw a man in a black trench coat come out with a person in front of them, with a black bag over their head. They were wearing a torn up civvies and Jason could see bruising on the patches of flesh that were visible.

"What the..?" mumbled Jason. The man walked his hostage out to the car park into the clear.

Jason felt like the man was looking straight at him. The man in the trench coat then removed the bag covering the hostage's head.

It was Corporal Wheatcroft.

"Oh shit." Said Jason. "Fred! Get Sale on the horn! NOW!"

Jason watched as the man levelled a pistol at her head.

"No..."

He fired.

Jason watched as his colleague... his friend, collapsed to the ground, her blood decorating the tarmac as her corpse fell to the ground. Jason tore his sight away from her corpse to look at the man in the black trench coat. He put the cross hairs on the man's chest, ready to blow him to kingdom come.

He was looking straight at him... as if he knew he was there... then it hit him.

"Oh fuck!" said Jason. "They know we're here! Pack up! NOW!"

"Sale on the horn!" reported Fred. Jason grabbed the radio from it. He didn't wait for Sale to ask him what was going on.

"Sierra Sierra! Situation is FUBAR! I say again, FUBAR! We are pulling out! De-briefing upon out RTB. Out!"

* * *

 **Dear reader**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as you can see things are beginning to hot up somewhat.**

 **I've started on chapter 8 but it maybe sometime until its out.  
**

 **For those of you who are reading on release, I wish you a happy new year.**

 **From**

 **Jango**


	8. Chapter 8

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

 **Chapter 8: Cry Havoc, and unleash the dogs of war**

 **Chester City Centre  
Chester safezone**

 **Z-day + 28  
12:55**

Sale and Marsden waited down at the Bridge Gate for the return of Fireteam Viking, keen to hear their report for why they had abandoned their mission with such haste. They did not have long to wait, as they returned shortly after they arrived, and all looked like hell, especially Jason...

He looked like he wanted to kill someone.

"Fireteam Viking," called Marsden. "Debriefing in ops. Now."

"Sir!" was the only response Marsden got. They walked back to the castle in silence, occasionally they drew a few glances, but they either just ignored them or shot back glances that simply said, 'Sod off. Mind your own business.'

They entered the ops room and they started peeling off patrol bags and webbing in silence. Before long they were down to their fatigues and clearing and stowing their weapons. Once that was done, they sat down in the op room seats and waited in silence.

"So what happened?" asked Marsden.

"It went tits up," replied Akio.

"Anything a little more specific?" asked Sale, slightly irate.

"They knew we were there," replied Jason. "We cut a hole in the wire, made it to the OP's building and moved inside. Signs of a firefight, spent 12 gauge shells and 5.56 NATO rounds, a lot of blood on the ground, I'd say at least 3 wounded from the assaulting party. We got to Wolf's OP then called it in. About 5 minutes later, a man in a black trench coat brought out Corporal Wheatcroft and executed her. He was looking right at us before and after he executed her. They knew we were there and watching.

"How?" asked Sale.

"They had Wolf's radio," replied Fred. Jason nodded.

"They were listening in on our comms," he added. "They also took all of Wolf's weapons and kit."

"If they knew you were there, why didn't they attack you?" asked Sale.

"They tried too." grunted Akio. Jason explained.

"As soon as I saw the man in the trench coat looking at us and realized he knew we were there I ordered us to pack up and bolt. About a minute after we left the building, we heard tear gas canisters being launched into the building we had occupied. We fell back to the RV then took the long way home and made sure to evade any tails on the way back."

Sale and Marsden looked at each other for a second as they processed the information.

"Any sign of the rest of Wolf?" asked Marsden.

"No sir," replied Jason.

"Ok then," concluded Marsden. "You're on a stand down for the rest of the day. Get your weapons cleaned and kit signed back in. Go see the padre if you think you need to talk to someone. Get a shower, something to eat and some rest. Dismissed."

"Sir," called Jason as Marsden turned to leave. "May I have a word? In private."

Marsden nodded before Jason followed. The 2 walked through the castle to Marsden's office. They entered the office and Marsden sat down.

"Permission to speak freely sir?" asked Jason. Marsden cocked an eyebrow. Jason had only once before asked permission to speak freely, and it was the reason why he had been 18 years old and only a Cadet Corporal.

"Granted," replied Marsden.

"Why didn't I take the shot sir?" asked Jason. Gone was the calm and collected 'Sergeants' voice and was replaced by a furious, balling soldier. "I had the bastard in my crosshairs and dead to rights! Why didn't I take the bloody shot?!"

"Did you realize you were compromised before or after she was executed?" asked Marsden.

"After. When the bastard was looking me straight in the eye," replied Jason.

"Well there you go then. You chose to put your team ahead of personal revenge. That makes you a good man."

"Then why do I feel like I failed?"

"Were you close to Corporal Wheatcroft?"

"We were friend's sir," Jason sighed, "Although I don't envy having to tell her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" queried Marsden. Jason nodded

"Private Martel," he replied, "Fireteam Kestrel. They've been keeping it quiet, but I walked in on them once. They were... intimate sir, and very close."

"I see," said Marsden. "Thank you, I'll speak to him."

"Respectfully sir, I'll tell him," Jason cut in. "It was my failure to shoot that got her killed. So it's my job to tell him." Jason turned to leave but stopped as he did.

"And sir, next time that bastard gets in my crosshairs, I will kill him. I will kill him calmly, efficiently and professionally. But I will kill him." Marsden nodded.

"Carry on Sergeant," was his only reply.

Jason stood to attention and saluted Marsden before silently leaving the room. Marsden waited for a moment before calling in Private Jackson.

"Private," he said. "Please summon the company officers and senior NCO's to briefing room 3. We need to flesh out a plan of attack against the Broughton Safezone."

"Yes sir," replied Jackson, he was about to leave but then hesitated. "Sir, is it wise to be doing this without the council's permission?"

"No harm in being prepared private. Is there?"

"No sir."

"Jolly good. Is there anything else?"

"No sir! Sorry sir!" Jackson passed a hasty salute before heading off to his task. Marsden was going to be damned if he was going to let this bunch of thugs going to threaten this city much longer... councils permission or otherwise.

* * *

 **Jason**

 **Chester Castle  
Chester safezone**

 **Z-day + 28  
13:15**

Jason orientated himself around the gym.

He and his team were each using their downtime differently. Fred decided he was going to the library, Alex went to the hospital go see what she could scavenge to top of her medical bag and Akio was probably off trying to find someone to practice martial arts with/ beat the crap out of. Jason decided that the best way to vent some frustration was to pump some iron and hit a punching bag.

They gym was equipped with the types of machines that generated power from use to power themselves, as well as free weights, punching and speed bags, an improvised sparring ring and scavenged posters demonstrating how to stretch and exercise every major muscle group.

They gym was empty; everyone was either op operations or otherwise busy. Jason had the place to himself.

Jason started with arm curls, before moving on to press ups, pull ups and finally sit ups. Once he'd finished 30 of each (except pull ups, he got as far as 10), he still felt like he had an itch that needed to be scratched. He moved over to a box and removed some boxing gloves and put them on before moving over to the punching bag.

He took a deep breath out before adopting a fighting stance. He lashed out with a quick Jab. The bag swung on its mounting chains. He punched again, and again. He kept punching, started throwing kicks in the mix. He kept seeing the man in the black trench coat, then Wheatcroft.

Then the man, then Wheatcroft.

Man.

Wheatcroft.

Man!

Wheatcroft!

BASTARD!

CORPSE!

 _Thud._

Jason stumbled as he took the impact of the punching bag after he missed his cross.

"Well someone's losing their edge," said a voice. Jason turned around and found Akio standing in the doorway of the gym. She'd changed out of her combats and was dressed in a set of workout clothes that would be considered by many people to be a little too revealing.

"Been a stressful day," replied Jason. Akio walked towards him and into the sparring circle.

"I'll say," she agreed. "Fancy a spar?"

"Couldn't find any new rookies to 'train' then?" asked Jason with a grin. Akio shrugged.

"I found you didn't I?" She grinned and took up a fighting stance in the sparring room. Jason removed his boxing gloves and squared up to Akio on the ring.

Jason started first with a series of quick jabs which Akio either blocked or dodged easily. Akio countered with a quick 2 punches followed by a low kick. From just watching her, Jason could tell Akio was slowing herself down deliberately to give him a fair chance. He used some Karate techniques Akio had shown him to easily block the punches and force the kick aside before it could make contact.

"Not bad," commented Akio, "You've been practicing."Jason smirked,

"And you're getting slower," he shot back, "Been spending too much time asleep Akio? Or Perhaps..."

Jason didn't see her attack. All he saw was a blur of her blood red hair moving towards him at speed, and all he felt was her grabbing his right wrist, stepping across him and hooking her foot around his before throwing him to the matted floor with a perfectly executed hip throw. He looked up at her, slightly dazed. She was smirking at him.

"You sure about that?"

Jason just shot back another smirk as he brought his legs up and wrapped them around Akio's waist. Before she could react he twisted his body to the side and she yelped as he bought her crashing down to the pads. Jason flipped himself upwards so that he was kneeling over Akio.

"Yeah." He said. He then went on to list different attacks he could do to finish off an opponent, exemplifying the attacks as he did. "And from here I could jamb my rifle butt into your chest and break your ribs, punch you in the throat. Or, if he were a lad, punch him in, and possibly break, his family jewels. Guaranteed to bring any man, and some women, to their knees."

"Does that include you, boss?" asked Akio, she then copied Jason's move and wrapped her legs around Jason and rolled him over, pinning him to the ground and straddling his hips.

"Akio," Jason cautioned, he knew what Akio was after. "We can't..."

"But you want too." She replied huskily, she bend so she could whisper in his ear seductively. "Or is that your sidearm pressing against my thigh?"

"Of course I want to," he replied, flashing a quick smirk. "Any sane man would." His face dropped back to a stern, if slightly disappointed face.

"But. We. Can't."

"Why not?" she was almost pleading with him. Jason Wriggled slightly and Akio demounted him. Jason stood to leave.

"Because," said Jason. "With a girl like you, if we start, I might not be able to stop. I'll see you later."

"Where are you going?" asked Akio as Jason was on his way out.

He paused.

"To give Private Martel the bad news," he said, before leaving Akio alone in the gym.

* * *

 **Sniper Nest  
King Charles Tower  
Chester City Wall**

 **Z-day + 28  
18:27**

Jason whistled lightly to himself as he panned his sniper rifle around, watching for infected, survivors, or anything that looked out of the ordinary.

"So what happened with you and Akio?" asked Fred, also scanning with a pair of binoculars.

"What'ya mean?" asked Jason, cursing that the debacle between he and Akio had been seen.

"Well it's just that Akio seems abit off. She came around and asked me where you were, I said try the gym," Explained Fred. "Since then she's just seemed slightly off. Was it something you did?"Jason sighed, he could trust Fred.

"It's more what I didn't do mate... the bloody hell?"

He panned his rifle back slightly; focussing on the tower block he'd just passed over and set his scope to maximum magnification.

"What?" asked Fred, Glancing over at Jason.

"Check that middle tower block. 7th floor balcony, 2nd from the right. See it?"

Fred looked over at the indicated balcony.

"You mean the guy with the rifle looking at us?"

"Yup."

"You gonna shoot him?"

"Call it in first. Tell em' we've got a dicker about 900 yards out."

"On it." Fred put down the binoculars and started talking on the radio. After a brief exchange on the radio, Fred handed him the ear set and put the transmit down next to him and his spare.338 mags. "It's for you."

Jason sighed and took over the radio.

"This is Viking 1. Send over."

" _Viking is Zero. What is the dicker doing? Over."_

"Zero, Viking 1. He's just watching us with a scoped rifle. A Remy 700 at a guess. Do I have permission to fire? Over."

" _That's a negative on the PTF Viking. Over_ _,_ _"_ Jason snarled slightly. He could almost see the bastard smiling at them.

"Zero. We can't let the bastard keep watching us. I can shoot out a window near him. See if that will spook him off. Over." There was a short pause before the radio operator replied.

" _Viking 1. You have permission to fire warning shot. Contact when situation resolved. Out."_

Jason smiled as he started dialling his scope to make the target.

"So which window you going for?" asked Fred, looking through the binoculars at him.

"The one right above his head," replied Jason. Fred looked at it. It was a small window above the man's head, in what looked like a kitchen.

"That's a pretty small target," said Fred. "You sure you can hit that?" Jason glanced over at Fred.

"Do I look like a bloody cross-eyed yank to you mate?" he smirked. "Just watch this."

"Famous last words," muttered Fred as he put the binoculars on target. Jason just smirked as he put the sniper rifle on target. Jason knew the range was just a shade over 900 yards, (he'd used it as long range target practice during a sniper lesson a few days ago). It wasn't the furthest he'd shot, but it wasn't close either. Jason took a few deep breaths, clearing his mind and slowed his heart beat.

' _Tick. Tick. Boom,'_ though Jason as he squeezed the trigger.

 _Kapfft!_

The small glass window shattered as the .338 Lapua magnum round found its mark. The 2 snipers chucked as the dicker was showered with glass, grabbed his rifle and ran for his life. Jason picked up the radio.

"Hello Zero. This is Viking 1. Dicker removed, and probably in need of a change of underwear. Resuming overwatch. Out."

They resettled into their night watch and resumed scanning for targets.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...  
Fireteam Viking bunkroom**

"So did you shag the boss then?" asked Alex. Akio dropped her book and looked over to the opposite bunk where Alex was meddling with some medical piece of kit.

"What are you..."started Akio but Alex cut her off

"Guess not then." Akio made an annoyed sigh.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Easy," replied Alex. "I look at Fred the same way." Akio cocked an eyebrow.

"Really?" she asked, "And just how much have you two done then?" Alex looked up from her kit and gave Akio a smirk.

"You really don't think he spent 4 hours in the library did you?"

"So where did you too... go?" asked Akio, slightly curious. "I mean you couldn't do it here. Someone would see."

"Who said we didn't want them to see us?" asked Alex, a mischievous grin on her face. Akio's mouth dropped and they 2 girls laughed for the first time in a long time. Alex recovered from her laughter and finished her though.

"No," she said, "you remember that hotel that Jason took us to teach us how to build sniper hides? Well we went there and just told the woman at reception we needed a room for a 'training exercise'."

"Really?" asked Akio, eyebrow still climbing up her forehead. "And just how long were you two at it?"

"About 3 or 4 hours," replied Alex, she started digging through her bag for one particular item.

"3 or 4 _hours_?!"

"Uh-huh," Akio pulled out a small red box from her bag and tossed it to Akio. She caught it and was slightly surprised to find it to be a box of condoms.

"Just in case," Alex explained. "Jason's already used all the ones in his kit bag."

"How do you know?" asked Akio, slightly surprised.

"He puts them over the barrel of his rifle to keep water and mud off it... that sounds dodgy doesn't it?" The 2 girls broke out into laughter and didn't even notice when Jason and Fred returned. The 2 snipers just looked at each other dumbfounded before just shrugging it off.

* * *

 **Chester Castle  
Chester safezone**

 **Z-day + 29  
15:00**

Fireteam Viking moved into the mess hall along with a group consisting of the Special Operations Detachment, other soldiers and personnel from the police. The mess hall had been converted into a large briefing room. They had been called there for a briefing on a subject they hadn't been told about, but they could all guess. Marsden, Staff Sergeant Sale and a police officer Jason didn't recognise stepped forward.

"Room! Room 'Shun!" Shouted Sale. The room stood to attention and all conversation died.

"Please take your seats," said Marsden. He waited for everyone to get a seat before continuing.

"As of 13:00 today, the order was given for the armed police and military to mount a joint operation to the Broughton safezone, to bring the gang in control into custody. In this operation we will; gain control of their tear gas stocks and other weapons, effect the release of the remaining members of Fireteam Wolf, rescue as many civilian survivors as possible, and gain overall control of the Broughton safezone and its remaining considerable supply stocks as well as capture the gang members in control of the safezone.

"The assault will consist of 2 forces. A force and B force. A force will consist of police and select military personnel outside of the Special Operations Detachment. They will approach the stronghold from the front and demand the surrender of the gang members, and if necessary, assault the building from the front and rear. Their specific briefing will be given by Chief Inspector Cook. B force will consist of the Special Forces detachment and will assault through the roof from forward assault positions. Their specific briefing will be given by Staff Sale."

Someone from Fireteam Diamond put their hand.

"Yes Corporal?" asked Marsden.

"2 Questions sir," said the Corporal. "1. When do we go? And 2. Do we have permission to shoot to kill?"

"To answer your first question," began Marsden. "Final briefings and prep for the remainder of today. We truck out 04:30 hours. Infiltrate area around Broughton park 05:15 hours. Movement into forward assault positions 05:45 hours. Negotiations/ Assault commence 05:50 hours. Home for tea and medals 13:00 hours. As for your second question,"

Marsden paused to sigh.

"Prisoners are preferable. But if you see any suspicious moves, don't hesitate. Dead them is better than dead you. Understand.

"Yes sir!" the room chorused.

"Very good," replied Marsden. "I'll let you get to your mission specific briefings. Carry on."

* * *

 **B force Forward Assault Positions  
Roughly 50 meters from Broughton safezone roof**

 **05:48**

" _B force, this is Bravo Zero Alpha. Sound off,"_ ordered Sale.

B force were scattered across a rooftop adjacent from the gang's stronghold, using the early dawn light and various pieces of rooftop mounted appliances for cover. From each of their positions, the assault team sounded off, muttering into their tac-coms under their gas masks. Fireteam Diamond were operating under the call sign Bravo 1's, and Fireteam Viking (with the exception of Alex who'd been secluded to the follow up teams and replaced by someone from another fireteam called Max.)

" _Bravo 1-1. In position."_

" _Bravo 1-2. In position."_

" _Bravo 1-3. In position."_

" _Bravo 1-4. In position."_

"Bravo 2-1. In position," Jason reported.

" _Bravo 2-2. In position_ _,_ _"_ Replied Akio

" _Bravo 2-3. In position_ _,_ _"_ Reported Fred.

" _Bravo 2-4. In position_ _,_ _"_ Max replied.

" _Copy. B force standby. Over,"_ ordered Sale. Jason just settled down and focussed on his weapon and briefing. For the assault he'd ditched his M4 SOPMOD and gone for his L85 because it was more compact and would be better for close quarter combat inside the building. Plus if and when it kicked off, the gang would have already engaged so he didn't need the suppressor.

And the brief. Jason just kept running over the briefing in his head. He and his section would assault through one of 2 roof access doors while the other section, comprising of the Diamonds and Sale would assault through the other. They would clear the upstairs corridors and administrative rooms while A force would clear the ground floor. Using maps of the place they'd been able to get their hands on, they'd named every hallway, room and stairway had been a phonetic and number, stairway 1 Alpha, Hallway 2 India and so on. But the hardest thing for almost everyone of the assault team to accept was what they'd been told to do in the event that one of them was killed or wounded. Sale's words echoed in his mind.

" _Speed is key in this kind of operation. If one of you goes down, don't stop to help them. Just call in, 'man down hallway 2 Alpha,' and move on. If you kill a hostile, same again but call in 'X-ray down. Hallway 2 Alpha.' for example."_

They'd been briefed that medics and reinforcements would flood the building after it had been cleared and they would handle any wounded, but they all knew that would probably be too late to save them.

" _All units stand too,"_ said a voice over the radio. It was Marsden. He and the chief of police Inspector Cook were running this show from an armoured Land Rover somewhere nearby. _"Delegation is moving forward to negotiate their surrender. If they start firing, you have a green light engage."_

On the ground below, a land rover gunned its engine and drove forward towards the building. The approaching vehicle got the attention of the 2 snipers who were on the roof. Someone in the Land Rover turned on a loud speaker,

" _Hello Broughton Safe Zone! Police and British Army! Lay down your weapons and surrender peacefully or you will be subject to aggressive action!"_

The 2 snipers looked between each other and one of them before they raised their rifle up and started firing.

" _Go!"_

B Force emerged from cover and someone shouted; "British Army! Drop your weapons!" at the shooters. They were stupid enough to turn to fire at the soldiers and each received a burst of 5.56 rounds for their trouble.

" _2 x-rays down. Rooftop."_

" _Have that,"_ a female voice from command acknowledged.

"Stack up!" shouted Sale. The 2 teams split up and stacked up on their roof access'. "Prepare to move! MOVE!"

Akio opened the door and Jason was in first, the rest of the team hot on his heels. As they descended the stairs, a man emerged from the door at the foot of the staircase, he was carrying a shotgun.

"British Army! Drop your weapon!" shouted Jason. The man paused for a moment before raising it.

 _Ka-Pow._

"X-ray down stairway 2 Alpha."

" _Have that."_

The fireteam continued down the stairs and moved through swiftly. They came down the stairs into a hallway of offices.

"Max! Akio! Left side! Fred! Right side! On me!" ordered Jason. They split up and Jason and Fred came to the first room. With a grunt of effort, Jason kicked the door in with an armoured boot and entered. The room had had its office furniture removed and replaced with camp beds and sleeping bags. There was no one in the room.

"Office 1 Alpha! Clear!"

" _Have that."_

They back into the hallway, moving to next room and repeating the entry procedure. This time however, the room was occupied by 3 women in various stages of undress with a man who had his back to the doorway and was hastily trying to pull a pair of jeans back on.

"Get on the ground! Now!" Jason ordered. The man spun around. He had a handgun wedged into the lip of his jeans gangster style. The man looked at Jason, Jason looked back. The man made a grab for it.

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"X-ray down. Office 2 Alpha! Times 3 Yankees secure."

" _Have that."_

"Stay here! If you touch a weapon you will be considered hostile and be shot!" ordered Jason, pointing at the 3 women. They nodded hesitantly towards Jason. Jason reached down and grabbed the man's pistol, an old Browning HiPower, and stowed it in his webbing before wheeling around and headed back out. Throughout the building, there were sounds of battle. Apparently the gang wasn't going down quietly, and through his comms Jason could hear the reports from other soldiers.

" _Objective Alpha secure in office 3 Echo."_

" _X-ray down! Storeroom 7 Bravo!"_

" _5 Yankees secure! Aisle 17!"_

" _Man down! Corridor 2 Alpha! X-ray is objective Charlie and making a run for it!"_

Jason grunted. Objective Charlie was a Mr. Pace Darwin, the leader of the gang, and the man in the black trench coat. And corridor 2 Alpha was the one at the end of the corridor Jason was on. At the end, a man in a black trench coat rushed across carrying an MP5.

 _Bastard!_

Jason raised his rifle and fired a burst on full auto. The rounds missed and impacted the wall, the Bastard was moving too fast.

"This is Bravo 2-1. I'm in pursuit of objective Charlie. Out!"

Jason started running, tearing around the corner with his rifle in hand. Gone were all thoughts of tactical thought and regard for his own safety, there was only one thing on his mind and that was revenge.

Jason saw the man turn around a corner and just as Jason rounded it as well he slammed a door shut and locked it. Jason charged the door but bounced off it and fell aside. Just as he fell, a long burst of sub machine gun fire tore through the door. A woman inside the room screamed and Jason could hear the bastard shouting at her.

Jason got to his feat and formed a quick plan. He dropped the depleted mag from his weapon and replaced it with a fresh one. He then keyed his mic.

"This is Bravo 2-1. Objective Charlie is inside Office room 12 Delta. From the sound of it he's got a hostage. I could use some back up. Over."

" _Understood Bravo 2-1. Bravo's 2-1 and 2-3 are on route to you now. Over."_

"Understood." Replied Jason. As he waited he pulled his bayonet from its sheath and fixed it to the barrel of his L85. He then trained it at the door and waited. 2 figures came around the corner. Jason twitched his rifle towards them, but pulled it back to the door when he saw it was Akio and Fred.

"We got him?" asked Akio.

"We've got Objective Charlie and one Yankee inside the office," briefed Jason. "Stack up."

Jason took one side with Akio behind him and Fred took the other side. Jason pulled a flash bang from his webbing before calling through the now shot up door.

"Mr. Darwin!" he shouted. "British Army! Lay down your weapons and..." Jason was cut off by the report of an MP5 being let rip on full auto.

"FUCK YOU!" The bastard shouted as he continued to tear through his ammo. Jason pulled the pin on the flash bang and chucked it through the door frame. They looked away and waited for a moment before a flash and clap of thunder signalled the flash bang's detonation. They moved in, Weapons at their shoulders and scanning for targets. Mr. Darwin was standing in the middle of the room, hunched over and head in his hands. His eyes were burning from the flash bang. Akio kicked away his MP5 that lay dropped on the floor, Fred moved the female hostage aside while Jason rugby tackled Darwin to the ground, rolled him on his front. He put the man's hands on his back and nodded Akio forward to zip tie the man's hands together.

"This is Bravo 2-1. Objective Charlie secure in office room 12 Delta." Jason said into his mic before disconnecting and snarling, "Aren't you, you son of a bitch?"

" _Roger Bravo 2-1. Stand fast on objective Charlie. All call sign's be advised that objective's Alpha, Bravo and Charlie have been secured. I say again, objective's Alpha, Bravo and Charlie are secure. Wrap up any remaining resistance and move any Yankees to store room 1 Alpha and surrendering X-ray's to Office room 8 Charlie. Reinforcements will be relieving you soon. Cracking job lads. Out."_

* * *

 **Hello there :)**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and more mad stuff is on the way.**

 **No idea when chapter 9 will be out, but I am working on it.**

 **Anyway, Please drop a review to give me your thoughts and favorite and follow if you feel so inclined**

 **Happy new year**

 **From**

 **Jango :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

 **Chapter 9: The price of victory**

 **Captured Broughton Safezone  
Roughly 10 miles from Chester Safezone**

 **Z-day + 30  
08:00**

"Fireteam Viking?" asked the leader of the newly arrived fireteam, "I'm here to relieve you."

Fireteam Viking looked up from their firing positions happily. Since the assault had been completed, the safezone captured and the gang members in custody of the plod*. Fireteam Viking and other army units had been ordered to take up positions and watch for the inevitable hordes of undead that would surely be attracted by the noise that had been created by the assault, and also by the ongoing evacuation.

"It's all yours mate," said Jason. He stood up and picked up his L85 while the rest of Viking packed up their kit. Jason continued to brief the newly arrived fireteam,

"We've got a group of them about 400 meters out and closing. We've been whittling them down but there's still about 50 or so of them left. Should be easy pickings, but if you need any help, we'll be keeping an ear on comms so just shout. Anyone got any scram on?"

"I think someone's thrown a large vat of chilli together down in the café," replied one of the soldiers as he took up position in Akio's vacated firing position.

"Yeah, they have," confirmed the leader. "It was bloody good too. Enjoy your downtime guys."

"Cheers lad," thanked Jason. "Fred, Akio, let's roll."

The team's exchanged goodbye's before Fireteam Viking departed the roof and headed for the aforementioned cafe. They made their way down through the office area where, only a few hours ago, they'd been shooting almost anything and everything that moved. The walls were still pot marked with bullet damage and the walls plastered with blood splatters, although the bodies had been removed. They passed a group of workers in the process or removing a door that was still partly hanging from its hinges.

They passed the room where Jason had killed the gang member, who it turned out was only 16, who'd been enjoying himself at the expense of the ladies who were also present. It turned out that what the Wilson family and the prisoner they'd taken had said about the gang members taking pleasures at the expense of the women, was true, and then some. Almost all the women over the age of 15, and even some men and boys had come forward to the police with reports of rape. It had been all Jason could do to stop himself and his team (especially Akio) from beating the crap out of the closest captive gang members then and there.

The team entered into the back storage room of the safezone, but that hardly did the place justice. The room was massive, the size of most warehouses and still liberally stocked with food and other supplies. And, according to some of the more co-operative gang members, some of the other large shops in the shopping centre were still well stocked with clothes, recreational items and other items. Eventually, they arrived onto the shop floor and headed for the store's cafe.

The shop floor was a scene of what many people would call 'organised chaos'. There were dozens of people going to and fro, fetching and carrying items that were being packed up for transport, helping some of the civvies gather their things and taking them towards the evac transports, or just standing guard watching proceedings. They arrived at the cafe and joined the queue for food, which was quite lengthy as almost everyone was starving after the firefight. Eventually, it was Viking's turn and they were each given a polystyrene bowl of chilli and a can of coke.

"Can I have a second set?" asked Jason, "One of our team is a medic and she's still dealing with the wounded."

The man serving the food looked as if he was about to tell Jason to sod off, but the he clocked the L85 hanging from its strap around Jason's shoulder. He grunted, before producing another can of drink and bowl of food.

"Hey Fred," said Akio, taking the extra bowl of food and handing it to Fred with a mischievous grin. "Go find Alex and take this to her. I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

"Yes Lance Corporal," replied Fred as he took the food and scampered off. Jason raised an eyebrow, they almost never called each other by rank, usually by first names or to Jason, boss.

"Well that was interesting," said Jason as he and Akio taking a seat opposite each other at an empty table, grabbing some plastic cutlery before they sat down.

"You know they're shagging right?" said Akio, taking a spoonful of chilli.

"Oh yeah," replied Jason, digging into his own chilli. Akio looked surprised, Jason chuckled.

"Fred hardly ever reads. So why would he voluntarily go and spend 4 or 5 hours in a library?" He paused to take a swig of coke to wash down the chilli with.

"So is it serious? Or is it just a 'we could be dead tomorrow' kind of thing?"

"Not sure," replied Akio. "I think it's the latter, but with the potential to develop into something serious."

"Well as long as they keep it in their own time and off the team. I'm cool with it," replied Jason. "Damn this is good chilli."

"Can I ask you something?" asked Akio, "Something personal?"

"Sure," said Jason. "Ask away."

"Do you find me attractive?"

"Extremely," replied Jason. Akio, even more, confused than before, decided to continue but remained mindful of her surroundings.

"So why didn't you... you know?" Jason sighed before continuing

"You mean why did I turn you down in the gym?" She nodded.

"Because you are a soldier under my command. It's my job as a commander to be willing to send the men and women under my command to their deaths if need be. If you were anyone else Akio and not someone under my command, and someone I wouldn't or couldn't develop feelings for, I would have done it with you. But I do care about you Akio. Enough that if we went that far, I'm not sure I could bring myself to send you to die, or live with myself if you got killed. Understand?"

Akio smiled slightly.

"Yes Boss," Jason was about to offer more thoughts on the matter when he saw Marsden approaching.

"Head up," he said. Marsden came up to the table.

"Boss," greeted Jason.

"Sergeant, Lance," replied Marsden, he motioned to a seat. "May I?"

"By all means," said Jason, using a paper napkin to hand to wipe some stray chilli from his mouth.

"Where is the rest of your team Sergeant?" asked Marsden.

"Private Vera is with the medical unit and I just sent Private Hanson to find her with a bowl of chilli and a can of coke sir," replied Jason.

"Very good," acknowledged Marsden. "Cracking good job today guys. Really top notch. I wish I could say the job was done, but I have an assignment for you."

"We're all ears, sir," replied Jason, and Akio leaned in more intently.

"Good," said Marsden. "It turns out that this wasn't the only place that the gang members had. Turns out that they had a few more places, sort of outposts, where they operated from. We've got the location of one of them and I want you and your team to go scout it out, quietly."

"Yes sir. Where is it and when do we leave?" asked Jason.

"We've got the address," Marsden handed him a piece of paper Jason looked at it before handing it to Akio. "Take whatever gear you can find from around here and get rolling."

"Sir, this address, it's not far from my old primary school," said Akio, "it's just down the road from my house."

"Ok. Then you'll have point," said Jason. "How far is it?"

"About 8 miles from here," replied Akio. "Any chance of a Land Rover sir?"

"I'm afraid not," replied Marsden shaking his head. "All vehicles are being used to move supplies and survivors back to Chester. I'm afraid you'll have to go on foot."

They were about to move into other aspects of the plan when Fred came up to the group. He was still carrying Alex's chilli and coke.

"Bad news," he said. "Apparently Alex was ordered by the chief medical officer back to Chester with a seriously injured patient."

"Ah," said Jason. He turned to Marsden. "I don't suppose you'll let us head out without a medic?"

"Not a chance," replied Marsden. Jason groaned.

"Oh, go on sir," he pleaded. "I'm a first aider."

"A youth first aider Sergeant," Marsden replied "And you failed it twice so forgive me if I don't sound convinced by your first aid abilities. I will get you a medic from the medical staff."

"Yes sir," replied Jason, slightly dreading this. "Just try to make it someone who's vaguely combat capable."

"I'll do what I can," promised Marsden.

...

 **30 minutes later**

"Fireteam Viking?" asked a high, only recently broken voice. Jason looked up from his perch at the newcomer.

'Oh, you've got to be kidding me.' He thought. He looked over the medic that was stood before him that Marsden had assigned them as Alex's replacement.

The lad, was at most 16 years old, barely 5'4 and dressed in a pair of trainers, jeans, a T-shirt and topped off with a crisp, white lab coat. He carried a medical satchel over one shoulder and was otherwise unequipped.

"And you are?" asked Jason, somewhat incredulously.

"Mike Smith," he replied, bouncing slightly in eagerness. "The head doctor told me to report to you?"

"Did he say why or what for?" asked Jason, hoping against hope that it was something other than to be their new medic.

"He said I was to accompany you on some errand?" Mike replied. Akio and Fred didn't bother to hide their despair.

"Right," said Jason, Looking the lad over once more. "Ok. Few questions. 1. Have you ever fired a rifle before?"

"I had an air rifle." Replied Mike.

"Have you ever killed an infected?"

"No."

"Have you ever killed a person?"

"No."

"Have you even set foot beyond the wall since this all happened? Before today?"

"No!" Mike snapped. He recomposed himself before continuing. "Look, I get what you're getting at Sergeant. I know I'm inexperienced, but you need me and I'm willing to learn if you'll have me."

Jason looked at the young wannabe doctor, with a revised opinion.

"Alright," said Jason, "I need a medic, and you qualify. Do what we say when we say it, and you _might_ get back in one piece. Understand me?"

Mike nodded.

"Good," said Jason, "first things first. Ditch the lab coat. Akio, get him a combat smock."

"On it boss," said Akio. Mike started removing his lab coat while Jason briefed him.

"We're going on a scout run. Apparently the A-holes who ran this place also have a few other's nearby. We're going to take a look at one of them."

"Is that safe?" asked Mike, halfway through putting on the Woodland DPM combat smock Akio had given him. There was a moment of silence between Jason, Akio and Fred, then they burst out laughing.

"Dude..." said Fred breathlessly, "We're in the zombie freakin' apocalypse. What part of this is safe?"

"Point," muttered Mike. Jason turned away for a moment, dug through his bag. He removed something before turning back to Mike. It was a Glock 17 in a holster with 2 spare mags.

"Take it," he instructed. Mike was hesitant.

"I can't," he mumbled. "I took an oath to do no harm..."

"You can't hurt a corpse," replied Jason. Mike became suddenly aware that no one was laughing anymore. "And you don't have to be a marksman. Just flick the safety off, point at the head, and squeeze. Or, alternatively, put it against your head and pull. A good deal better than turning if you get bit."

Jason thrust the pistol into Mike's hand before turning back to his own kit but then turned back to Mike.

"Oh, and if you do anything to endanger any of my team. I'll save you the trouble and shoot you myself. Clear?"

Mike nodded.

"Good," said Jason. He picked up his L85. "Let's go."

...

"Cover," said Akio.

Viking broke formation and took cover where they could. Fred and Akio went to one side of the street and vaulted over a low garden wall. Jason collared Mike and pulled him behind a parked car. Mike looked at Jason, confused by the sudden activity.

"What the..."

Jason put a finger to his mouth then tapped his ear, the universal sign for shut up and listen. Mike obeyed. Sure enough, the ominous groan of a nearby infected. Mike went silent, frozen in fear. Jason moved to a knee so he could see through the car's windows and get eyes on the infected. He spotted him, an adult male in casual clothes. Jason slipped his knife from its holster, ready to dispatch the infected if he got to close. Fortunately, he just kept on stumbling.

"Clear," murmured Jason into his mic when the infected was far enough away. Viking emerged from cover, with weapons drawn and trained down the street they were on.

"That's the 5th one in 10 minutes," commented Fred, almost whispering.

"They're being drawn by the noise at Broughton," surmised Akio.

"We've still got about 4 miles to go," said Jason. "Let's move."

They rose and started moving. They only got another 2 streets down before they heard it.

"You hear that?" asked Akio. They all stopped and listened. The groaning was now at an ambient noise level. That meant _a lot_ of them nearby. They rounded the corner and there they were, thousands of them moving as a single herd and heading straight for them.

"We need a detour," said Jason quickly. "Akio?"

"One street back, right side," she said.

"At the double! Move!" ordered Jason. The team turned about and started heading back. Moving at speed but trying to keep silent. They moved onto the street Akio suggested, only to find it too packed with infected.

"Shit!" cursed Jason. They were all beginning to feel the stress, especially Mike who was beginning to panic.

"Were screwed!" he whined, drawing his pistol.

"Take it easy," said Jason, looking around while trying to work out what to do. "We just need a plan."

"Any ideas?" asked Fred.

"Yeah," said Jason, he pointed at the nearest house. "That house. We hunker down and wait for them to pass. Move."

They sprinted toward the house, pounding up the path and trying the door.

"Locked," grunted Jason. "Cover me while I pick the lock." Jason set about the lock while Akio and Fred covered. Mike was trying his best not to panic. But the 2 hordes of infected were getting closer and almost to the gate.

"Anytime mate..," cautioned Fred.

"Hey, this is harder than this looks, alright?"

"Hurry up," Mike half pleaded, mostly whined.

"Aaannnd..." the lock finally clicked. "Got it!" He pushed the door inwards, and an infected was standing in the doorway and lunged at Jason.

"FUCK!" he cried as he fell onto his back and crossed his arms to catch the infected as it fell on him. Jason caught it and it wrestled with him, its jaw's snapping and snarling at Jason. It's assault suddenly ceased as Akio pulled it off him, her bayonet buried in the back of its head.

"SHIT!" screamed Mike as he turned and ran down the path towards the herds of infected that were closing on them.

"No! Come back!" shouted Jason. Fred tried to grab him but failed. He grunted.

"I'll get him," he said before he took off after Mike.

"Fred don't!" It was too late; he was already down the path and running. He disappeared into a gap in the infected horde that closed as soon as he was through, they were already heading up the pathway.

"Akio! Inside now!" ordered Jason. Akio hesitated

"We can't just..."

"We can't help him if we're dead! Now get inside!"

Obediently, she retreated into the house. Jason was right behind her, shutting the door and locking it. He pressed his body against it.

"Find something to barricade it with!" ordered Jason. Akio retreated into the house to find something to barricade the door with. Felt the impact as they started pushing against the door. The strain and weight were difficult to match and Jason could feel the door beginning to give under the weight. Akio returned with a wooden dining chair and wedged it under the door to prevent the door from opening.

"Watch the door," said Jason. Akio took up guard while Jason tried frantically to raise Fred on the radio. as no answer.

"Viking 3! This is Viking 1! Radio check over!" The only answer was static.

"Damn it Fred! Respond!" Jason shouted into his mic, to no avail. Fred must have turned off his radio to avoid static and maintain stealth, not a stupid move considering all the infected out there. Seeing Jason's distress, Akio spoke up.

"I'll watch the door. You clear the house and see if you can find something a bit bigger to hold the door shut with. Then we lay low and wait for this all to blow over."

"Sounds good," said Jason, glad to have a voice of reason in Akio. Jason set to and swept the rest of the house, finding no other contacts, living or dead. The house was a bog standard designed detached house; front living room one side with the front door in it, kitchen in the back and a utility and dining room taking up the other side of the house. The upper floor was occupied by 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. Once satisfied that the house was clear, Jason started looking for a suitable barricade for the front door. He eventually settled on a large armchair from the corner and shoved it over to the door.

"That should hold them," said Akio, "For now."

"Right," said Jason, "We've got no long range radio, so we can't call for help and we've got a load of infected trying to kill us."

"You think we should try and sneak away?" asked Akio. Jason shook his head.

"No," he said. "Fred knows we're here. Once he's got the idiot he'll make his way back to us. Best to do what you said. Barricade the doors and windows, go upstairs, lay low and stay quiet and wait for them to bugger off."

"Sounds good," said Akio. She could still see Jason was worried about Fred; he had every right to be. She needed to do something to lighten his mood.

"So where did the great Sergeant Jason Rees learn to pick a lock?"

...

 **Fred**

Fred watched as Mike ran down the path towards the undead. He was making for a gap in the tide in an attempt to make a run for what he perceived as safety. Fred heard Jason call out to Mike to stop, but the medic kept running. Fred grunted.

"I'll get him," he said and he took off down path making for the gap. He ignored Jason's order to stop and kept running. The gap was closing so Fred ducked his head down and charged the gap wide open. He barged some infected at the edges out of his way and kept running. All he could hear was the sound of infected groaning all around him, and he could almost feel the gap closing behind him. Fred just kept running and prayed that none of the infected would be able to grab a strap on his gear and pull him down, if they did, he was dead.

He finally broke free of the herd and kept running, wanting to get distance between himself and the now alert herd. As he ran, he turned off his radio, the last thing he needed was Jason screaming in his ear and distracting him when he needed maximum focus on staying alive. Once he'd covered what he guessed to be a safe distance, he slowed to a stop and looked around.

The herd of Infected was still mainly focussing on the house, but some on the edges were slowly peeling away from the main group to pursue him. Fred took another look around, to see if he could see Mike, alas the medic had scarpered and was nowhere to be seen. Fred put aside his concerns for Mike for the moment and started thinking how he could get the herd away from Jason and Akio.

The answer was rather obvious; he just shouldered his L85 and fired, picking off some of the infected that were closing on him. While he'd dropped some infected, the report from his rifle was loud enough to get the full attention of the herd and they started to amble towards them.

"Right then," he said to himself. "Time to leave." Fred turned and started off again. He turned down the road and headed off at a jog. He turned down into a cul-de-sac to find it crawling with infected. With little option due to the number of infected in front and behind him, he bolted towards the closest house. He tried the door but it was locked. He contemplated kicking it in but then realised he had no way to secure it again once he'd kicked it. Instead, Fred went to the house's side and shoulder barged through a wooden garden gate at the side of the house.

Somehow the latch on the gate didn't break when he barged it. He paused only to close the gate behind him before moving down the path towards the house's garden.

He didn't get very far.

As he rounded the corner of the house, an infected lurched at him. It collapsed onto him and caused Fred to stagger and fall backwards. Fred put his left arm up instinctively to shield himself while his other hand went for his knife, but the infected simply grabbed his arm and sunk its teeth into his fatigue-clad limb.

Fred screamed in pain as the infected chewed into his arm. He managed to pull his knife free from its sheath on his pistol holster and jam it into the infected's temple. The infected died, the tension in its jaw slackening and its bite released, blood staining Fred's fatigue sleeve where its teeth had sunk in. Fred rolled the infected off of him. He looked at his bloody sleeve for a moment before rolling it up. While the UBAC's sleeve had negated the majority of the bite's force, there had been enough left to get through and into his arm. It was shallow, and bleeding steadily, but none the less, he was bitten.

"Son of a bitch," he cursed. The energy drained from his body as all tension left his body and he just lay in the flower bed which had cushioned his fall. The bite hurt, but not as much as he'd expected. Even so, Fred knew what he needed to do. He pulled his Sig from its holster on his thing and withdrew its suppressor.

If he was going to die, it would be on his terms; quick and quiet.

He screwed the suppressor onto the pistol. He pulled the slide back half way to check that there was a round in the chamber. Once he was satisfied that the weapon was ready, he thought of his friends.

Brad, his childhood friend who'd died from being bitten and shown him what it was like to die from a bite:

Fhajad. The friend who'd been brave enough to stay with Brad, even though he knew what would happen when he turned.

Jason. The teenager who'd taught him to be a man and how to fight for those he loved.

Akio. She'd taught him to fight, and stand up for what he believed in.

Alex... Alex. The woman he loved. She'd made him a man and given him reason to go on when everything else was gone.

His only regret was that he would never get to hold Alex, one more time.

'Let's get this over with.' He thought. He flicked the Sig's safety off, raised the pistol to the side of his head, and closed his eyes.

"Mister? Are you ok?" asked a timid voice.

Fred thought for a moment he'd imagined it, but then he opened his eyes. Standing in the garden was a little girl, no more than 6 years old. She looked slightly frightened at Fred, staring at the sig which was still pressed into Fred's temple. He lowered the weapon and put it in his lap.

"I've been better kid," he replied. "What's your name?"

"Bella," she replied.

"Nice to meet you, Bella. I'm Fred. Are your parent's around?" He asked. Bella shook her head.

"We were trying to get to the city when mummy got sick," she said sadly as she looked at the floor. "We stopped here for a while. One night I saw daddy carrying mummy away outside. I haven't seen them since. I've been alone for days." She looked at Fred's bleeding sleeve.

"Are you going to turn into one of those monsters?"

Fred looked at his sleeve, then at Bella. If she had been alone as she said for all this time as she said, she must be brave and smart, considering that she was still alive.

"Not yet," he said, clicking the safety back on the sig. He slowly stood up, grunting at the pain. "Listen. I'm a soldier with the army. My friends are nearby. I'll take you to them and they'll take you to the city. You'll be safe there."

"Are you not coming with me?" she asked. Fred sighed.

"I'm afraid not," he said. He could hear some infected against the gate, trying to get in. "I think we should go inside. You pack your things while I call my friends."

"Ok," she said. She scurried back through a back door that she had come through. Fred followed her in and closed the door behind him, locking it shut.

The kitchen Fred found himself in had everything he needed to set himself up; a table and a sink. He first put his bag and pistol down on the table in the centre of the room. He then pulled his water bottle from his webbing and walked over to the sink. After trying the taps, and finding them lacking water as he'd expected them to be, he opened his water bottle and poured water on the bite.

Even if he was going to die from it, if he could hold off the effects just long enough to get Bella to Jason and Akio, it'd be worth the extra pain of staying alive that long. He carefully washed out the bite, before moving back to the table and retrieving some painkillers from his med-kit and a large dressing. He swallowed the pain killers and dressed the bite, before pulling his sleeve back down to cover it up. He then switched on his radio and clicked the transmit stud.

"Viking 1 this, is Viking 3. Radio check. Over."

There was a moment of static before Jason replied over the radio.

" _Viking 3 this is Viking 1. Loud clear. It's damn good to hear from you_ _,_ _mate. You're distraction worked. The herd's moving off. Over."_

'Well, that's something.' Thought Fred before continuing.

"Understood Viking 1. I've found a little girl in the house I'm in. Her parents are gone and she's been alone for days. We need to get her back to Chester. No sign of Mike, though. Over."

" _Understood. Give us your location and we'll make our way over to you. Over."_

"Turn left out of the front door of your building. 3 streets down on the right, first house on the right. Should be a decent number of infected outside. Let me know when your closer and I'll pick some off with my Sig. Over."

" _Understood. We're en-route. Out."_

Jason hung up and Fred sighed. He went upstairs to check on Bella, finding her happily stuffing some items into a pink backpack. He went back downstairs and looked around for a sheet of paper and a pen. Once he had them he started writing. It didn't take long to finish and just as he did Jason came on the radio telling him that they were closing in.

Fred shoved the writing into his pocket and instructed Bella to stay upstairs till he called for her as he stepped to the door with his suppressed pistol at the ready. He unlocked and opened the door, stepped into the doorway and started popping off infected with his pistol. After he'd popped off 5, Akio and Jason shot past him into the house and shut the door again, locking it.

"Alright mate," said Jason. "Where's the girl?"

"Bella," called Fred up the stairs. The girl appeared at the top of the stairs and came down, her pink backpack on her back. She looked at Jason and Akio before looking back at Fred.

"These are my friends, Akio and Jason. They'll be taking you back to Chester. Be good for them ok?"

"Ok," mumbled Bella.

"You make it sound like you're not coming with us," joked Akio. Fred didn't laugh but just shook his head.

"I can't," he said.

"Why not..." asked Akio before Jason cut her off.

"You're bit. Aren't you mate?" he asked. Fred nodded before pulling up his bloody left sleeve. The dressing was starting to turn red in parts as the steady stream of blood bled through. Akio covered her mouth, a sad "No." escaping from her.

"You know that's permanent mate," said Jason, gesturing to Fred's arm. Fred nodded.

"I know," he said, "But I reckon I've got long enough to give you a chance to get out of here." Jason was about to interrupt but Fred cut him off.

"I haven't got long mate. Take my weapons and kit back to Chester." He unthreaded his Sig's suppressor and ejected the magazine, doing a quick ammo count. He put the magazine back in and handed Jason the suppressor.

"I've got 9 rounds left. That's 8 infected and 1 for me. I'll make as much noise as I can and try to lead them away while you 3 make a run for Chester."

"Are you sure about this mate?" asked Jason. Fred nodded.

"Yeah," he pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Jason. "Give this to Alex would ya? And tell her for me."

"Consider it done," said Jason. He was struggling to keep his emotions back. The next few minutes were spent in silence, dividing up Fred's kit between Akio and Jason so they could take it back to Chester. Eventually, they were ready. Akio gave Fred a warm hug and Jason simply came to attention and saluted.

"It's been an honour mate."

"Likewise," replied Fred, returning the salute. "Now then. I'll make some noise, you guys go when it's clear."

He turned for the door.

"See you in hell."

And he was gone.

* * *

 **Chester Safezone  
Hospital**

 **Z-day + 30  
21:37**

Jason walked into the hospital with a heavy heart, dreading the job which he had to do. He had just finished reporting to Major Marsden and returned Fred's kit to stores. He'd told the stores man;

" _Find a good home for these. The last man to use them was a hero."_

After that, he'd found the duty officer and asked him where Alex was. He'd told him to try the hospital; she was last seen there escorting a patient. Fred walked up to reception.

"Excuse me," he said to get the receptionist's attention. "Where could I find Private Alex Vera?"

"Who are you?" asked the receptionist.

"Sergeant Jason Rees, her team leader," replied Jason. "It's a matter of some importance."

"She's on break at the moment so try the staff room. It's on the 3rd floor," said the receptionist after consulting a rota. "I can have someone take you up there if you want?"

"Thank you, but I'll find my own way," said Jason as he set off down the hallways.

The hospital was one of Jason's least favourite places in the city. Not because it was a place of sickness or death. But because it acted as a focal point for all the petty problems that civilians had and complained about; every headache, cold, unsettled stomach and every work avoiding, resource draining excuse the 'ever so grateful' civvies came up with to avoid work and actually doing something worthwhile.

Jason looked at a line of civvies waiting to be seen by a doctor outside a consultation room.

'Not one of them probably gives a damn about the sacrifices the soldiers that gave their lives for those meds.' He thought, 'Only to be wasted on a common cold instead of an actual injury.'

Walking through these halls was a constant reminder that good soldiers were to give up anything and everything they could for ungrateful civvies because it was their duty. Even to the point that when they'd gone back to their room to drop their gear, he and Akio found that their camp beds had been taken, 'due to the influx of new civvies' said the Corporal who'd been removing other furniture from down the hall when questioned about it.

And the civvies would probably care about as much as they would about Fred's death as they would for the fact he and his team would now be on roll mats. Because that was the nature of self-centred civvies who'd been waited on hand and foot since the outbreak started.

Jason pushed aside his thoughts of anger and stopped in the hallway. He had a dig through his pocket and pulled out the letter Fred had given to him deliver to Alex. He read it again for the 3rd time;

 _Dear Alex._

 _I'm afraid I don't have long and cannot say goodbye in person, so this letter will have to do. I just want to say thank you, for making the last week of my life the best one of my life. If the price for spending a week in love with you is death, then it is a price I will gladly pay._

 _Take care of yourself, and have a good life._

 _Love from_

 _Fred._

Jason was almost in tears. The letter summed up Fred easily; a man of few words, but just the right ones to strike home.

And now he had to give his last message to Alex.

He kept walking until he found the staffroom. He found Alex standing just outside it. She was dressed in her fatigues, but with a doctor's lab coat over the top. She looked beautiful; no wonder Fred had fallen for her.

"Alex," he called out. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Boss," she said happily. "All well?"

"Not really," he said. He wasn't quite sure what to say. Alex's face shifted from one of happiness to one of concern.

"Why? What happened?" she asked.

"It's Fred," he said. He proffered the letter to her. "He asked me to give you this."

Alex looked at and took the folded piece of paper and started reading, slightly confused at first, but suddenly gasped and tears started to well up as she realized what it meant.

"He also told me to tell you..."

"No..."

"He loved you."

"No... NOO!" Alex's normally calm, happy personality shattered. She burst into tears screaming, burying her head into Jason's chest and just letting it all out. Jason just held her close, and let her cry her sorrows into his chest.

* * *

 **Hello there :)**

* Plod is British slang for the police

 **I hope you enjoyed chapter 9.**

 **This pretty much is the end of this story ark and I'll be moving into the next one, but there will be influences from these chapters throughout.**

 **Anyway, I would like to hear some ideas for what you guys should think should happen. I have a list of things I want to do/ lines I want said/ scenarios that I want to play out, but I need some filler ideas. These could be anything from a new development in the zombies, to possible senarios, to anything at all, I am prepared to listen.**

 **just drop me a PM**

 **Anyway, have a good one**

 **Jango**


	10. Chapter 10

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

 **Chapter 10: In which we serve**

 **Fireteam Viking**

 **Roughly 6 miles from Chester Safezone**

 **Z-day + 32  
07:15**

"Got one," said Akio, "Distance, 270 meters and closing. Negligible wind."

"I have him," replied Jason, putting his scope on the target's head.

"Understood. Headshot. Fire when ready."

Jason took a few deep breaths and squeezed the trigger on the exhale.

 _Pfft!_

Jason cycled the bolt on his AI Covert. He put the crosshair on another infected and repeated the process for each of the infected in the kill box.

 _Pfft!_

 _Pfft!_

 _Pfft!_

 _Pfft!_

The last target fell as Jason ejected the spent magazine and replaced it with a spare one from his kit.

"Confirm all targets neutralized."

"Confirmed. Clear to Proceed."

Jason and Akio gathered their things before sliding and dropping from the roof of the bus they'd been sniping from. The pair continued their advance towards their objective; the raider outpost they were supposed to have reconnoitred 2 days prior.

Jason sighed slightly at the memory; how Fred had been bitten, but managed to get a little girl back to them, then distracted the herds of infected while he and Akio made a run for it. In his report, he'd recommended Fred for a posthumous medal for gallantry as well as a promotion. Since then a lot had changed; Jason was now in the process of training Akio to take over Fred's role as a spotter while Jason was handling radios for the team. They'd all taken Fred's passing badly, but Alex had taken it the worse.

Alex had broken down completely. She'd cried for hours into Jason's chest before finally becoming too tired to continue. She'd been stood down from active military duty, pending a psychiatric evaluation. Normally the whole team would have been stood down, but such were the demands of war, that Akio and Jason were thrown back into the meat grinder. Besides, Akio and Jason were of the same mind on this;

' _Fred died on this mission. We owe it to see it through.'_

They stalked forward, M4's up and scanning for targets while Jason's covert hung from its strap across his back.

"We should be getting close," said Akio. Jason nodded, then threw his fist up into signal 'halt' and tapped his ear. 'listen'. They both stopped and listened, aside from the ever-present sound of infected groaning in the distance, they both heard something else. An engine? Defiantly the sound of someone yelling... or screaming. It sounded like people, trying to get away from something, and there was defiantly an engine.

"Cover," said Jason. The 2 soldiers broke off from the road centre and took cover behind an abandoned car. Jason pulled out his shaving mirror, a stick of chewing gum and his knife. He handed to gum to Akio.

"Chew," he said. Akio took the gum and chewed quickly before taking it out of his her mouth and handing it to Jason. He took the gum and sandwiched it in-between his knife's blade and the back of the mirror. He then pushed it up above the bonnet of the car and scanned around for anything.

He watched as a man and woman, each with a large camping backpack came around the corner, they were running frantically. Then a red pickup truck came around the corner, with 2 men in the back, both carrying long guns. The pickup overtook the backpackers and blocked the road. The 2 in the back jumped down and 2 more got out of the cab. The male backpacker started pleading.

"Please don't!" he shouted, "We haven't done anything to you!"

One of the men from the pickup, presumably the leader, spoke. "Tough shit mate. Put the bags on the ground."

"Ok... ok..." said the man hesitantly as he and his female companion removed their backpacks and put them down on the ground.

"Thank you," said the leader, "Now go to hell."

 _Boom! Boom!_

The 2 backpackers' chest exploded as they each took a shotgun blast. The men in the pickup started laughing. Two of them climbed down from the pickup and went for the rucksacks.

"Should've kept her alive mate," said one of them. "She had a real nice arse."

"Haha, too fuckin' right mate," said the other. Jason was disgusted and looked back at Akio for a moment, and was terrified at what he saw. She had a terrifying grin on her face like a complete psycho would at the point of indulgence. She spun round and started to stand but Jason grabbed the drag handle on the back of her webbing and pulled her down.

"No!" he half-snarled, half whispered. "Stay down."

"The fuck was that?" asked one of the men.

"Probably a crawler in that car reacting to the gunshots," said another. "Let's head back to base before any more show up."

"Yeah. Sound's good." The men got back in their pick up. Its engine revved as it tore off down the road. Once they were gone and out of sight. Jason confronted Akio.

"What the hell was that all about?" he asked. Akio's smile was gone; she looked sad, almost ashamed.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said. Jason scowled, he wasn't having it. He took a deep breath.

"Look Akio," he said, softly but sternly. "You're my best friend, and I trust you, but I'm also you squad leader, and I won't risk you in the field if you're not in the right frame of mind. So tell me what's wrong or I'll scrub the op and we'll head back."

Akio looked appalled as if someone had just slapped her. "We can't scrub the op! We need to finish it! For Fred!"

"Is that what this is all about?" asked Jason. Out of everyone, Akio had seemingly taken Fred's death the best, although it had affected all of them differently.

"It's not about him at all," she replied, she'd reverted back to looking ashamed, which Jason had never seen before.

"Then what?" asked Jason firmly. Akio sighed.

"That man, the leader," she said, "I've run into him before."

"Who is he?" asked Jason.

"He was a senior lieutenant to a local gang leader," she said. "After my father took over my grandfather's Chinese restaurant, that man came to him offering 'protection insurance'. It was fine at first, but during a rough spot of business, he fell behind on payments. As an example, that man and 2 of his thugs kidnapped me on the way home from school. They slipped me a date rape drug in their car. I woke up tied to a table in a cellar and they... they..." Akio broke down into tears. Jason could guess what they did.

"How old were you?" he asked.

"12," she replied, biting back the rest of her tears. "They said if I went to the police, they'd hurt my family. I never told anyone."

Jason understood now. This man had done something unspeakable to Akio and she'd never gotten closure. He knew she was fierce, and dangerous in combat, and he remembered the smile on her face he'd seen when she fought infected, or people hand to hand. He'd never seen her like this, broken... crying... ashamed...

"Alright then," he said, "Let's get the son of a bitch."

...

 **11:00**

After hours of searching, they came across the red pickup, parked outside a house. A quick recon has yielded the sounds of moving furniture from inside, they were searching for something. There was only one of them outside on guard duty, but he was smoking a cigarette and his weapon, a bolt action rifle, was slung on his back.

This told Jason that he was relaxed... in control... not feeling threatened...

"You ready?" asked Jason.

" _Yeah,"_ replied Akio over the radio.

"Remember. I want the leader alive. The rest we can kill."

" _Why?"_

"You'll see. Let's go."

Jason emerged from behind the house he was hiding behind, approximately 50 meters down the road, with his 'noise maker', a LASM (Light Anti-Structure Missile) launcher, on his shoulder. Before the guard could even turn his head, much less react to Jason's appearance in the street, Jason fired. The missile speared from its launcher on in an explosive cloud of ignited gas.

At first, Jason was worried the missile was going to miss, having never fired the weapon before, but grinned happily when it flew straight into the pickup's engine block. The Pickup exploded beautifully in a white flash and a billow of smoke, crisping the man on lookout who started screaming in pain. Jason chucked the spent launcher and pulled up his M4, advancing on the house with the weapon shouldered and ready. As he advanced, Jason could hear shouting inside the house, and 3 men came outside, a fat man, a man in an over shirt, and a man with a scar on his face.

Scarface tried to raise his weapon and received a shot to the chest from Akio who was on overwatch with Jason's covert. The 2 remaining men watched as their colleague collapsed, his chest bleeding from shredded vital organs.

"Drop your weapons and get on your knees!" shouted Jason, now only 20 meters from the group. They started to move, but they were moving too slowly for Jason's liking. He put a shot into their friend who'd been cooked in the explosion, as well as shocking the 2 and getting them to disarm themselves faster, this had the added bonus of shutting him the hell up. Fat Man and Overshirt threw down their weapons away and raised their hands Jason stopped about 15 meters short of the remaining pair.

"Hand's on your head!" ordered Jason. They both complied, but Jason shot Overshirt anyway, putting 2 in the man's neck. The man fell back and clutched at his throat, making sick gurgling sounds as he drowned on his own blood. Fat Man stared at Overshirt with his mouth hanging open, paralyzed in shock. He snapped back to Jason after a moment. If he'd been a fighting man, he'd have made a dive for his weapon so he could have gone down swinging.

"Who..." he stammered, "Who are you?"

"Sergeant! British army!" Jason almost shouted back. Overshirt was still gurgling so Jason finished him off with 2 more rounds while holding Fat Man's gaze. He didn't watch where they hit, but Overshirt stopped gurgling.

" Please don't fuckin' kill me! Please guv'ner!" Fat Man started to cry.

"Stop crying." Said Jason. Fat Man continued to whimper and sob.

"Seriously. Stop crying," Jason kicked his legs. "Get up! Move!"

Fat Man stumbled to his feet, cowering slightly. He'd been so confident a little while ago, now he was cowering and...pissing himself. A large dark wet patch was growing on his crotch and speeding down his legs.

"Take off your boot lace," ordered Jason.

"Why?" Fat Man sobbed.

"Do it or I kill you," replied Jason. Fat Man hurriedly complied. He had 3 dead friends around him that could attest to Jason's willingness to carry out the threat. Fat Man removed the boot lace and presented it to Jason. Jason lowered his rifle slightly, but still kept it ready.

"Do anything stupid, and my sniper will kill you," warned Jason. Fat Man nodded vigorously, sweat streaming down his flabby face.

"Hand's behind your back."

He complied and Jason bound his hands with the bootlace. Once his hands were suitably secure, Jason grasped his rifle and forced the suppressor in between Fat Man's shoulder blades.

"March."

The man started walking down the street at gun point, towards the house Akio was positioned in.

"Where are you takin' me?"

Jason felt no need to hide the truth from him.

"To my sniper. A girl you raped 6 years ago."

Fat Man stopped in his tracks and looked at Jason, terrified.

"Whatch'a doin' that for?"

"I'm going to let her kill you if she wants' to."

Fat Man erupted into tears as he dropped to his knees and started begging.

"No! Please guv'ner! I never raped no one! Why you gonna' let 'er kill me over noughin'?!"

Jason looked at the man with interference. "I wouldn't call rapeing of a 12-year-old girl, then threatening her family if she talked nothing. Now get up and move. Or I'll save her the trouble and leave you for the infected if you prefer."

"No!" Fat Man pleaded, "Not the biters! Anything' but the biters!"

"Then get moving."

Fat Man tried to find some Mercy in Jason's eyes, but all he found was cold indifference. He looked down at his feet as he got up and started walking. It was only a short walk before they reached the house Akio was sniping from. Jason marched him through the house and into the back garden, telling the man to get on his knees in the centre of the garden. As he complied, Jason summoned Akio to the back garden. While she was coming, Jason knelt down and whispered into Fat man's ear.

"Don't say a word, or you'll regret it."

Akio appeared in the back garden, her rifle slung across her chest. She walked around the man and stood in front of him, looking down on him. She stared at him with an icy cold glare.

"It that him?" asked Jason, standing a short distance away.

"Yes," she said, venom seeping into her voice.

"He did something terrible to you," said Jason. "It's your choice what to do with him."

Akio simply nodded and stared at Fat Man. Her jaw line moved slightly, her lips became a tight line. Her face was beautiful, built for the smiling that it normally did, but her expression was cold, terrifying even. Fat Man was weeping uncontrollably now. He had not even the courage or dignity remaining to face death silently. Instead blubbered on, snot and tears streaming down his face.

Akio looked at him for some time, before in one fluid, a sudden act of movement, pulled her sig from its holster and pressed it to his forehead. Fat Man breathed in sharply and scrunched his eyes up against what was coming.

' _Click!'_

Fat Man remained still for a moment, before slowly opening his eye's again to find himself still alive and intact, with Akio's pistol hovering mere centimetres from his face. She lowered it slowly and re-holstered it.

"Let him go," she said, "He's not even worth killing."

"Are you sure?" asked Jason. Akio nodded to him as she passed him and moved back into the house, Leaving Jason alone with Fat Man.

"Get up," he ordered. Fat Man duly rose from his feet, his tears stopped and much happier than he had been. "Move."

Jason led Fat Man through the house, and down the road back towards the still burning wreckage of the pickup and the Fat Man's dead friends. A few infected were beginning to move towards the burning wreck, which Fat Man was worried by.

"Are you going to untie me?" asked Fat Man, looking back at Jason, who was totally unimpressed.

"Not yet," he replied, pushing Fat Man's shoulder so he face front again.

"Please!" begged Fat Man. "I'll leave town! I promise you'll never see me again." Jason slid his combat knife from its sheath.

"I know," he wrapped his left hand over Fat Man's mouth and forced the knife into his lower back. Fat Man's pain induced scream was muffled by Jason's gloved hand. As he collapsed to his knees, Jason leaned over and whispered into his ear.

"She may have forgiven you for what you did, but I didn't."

He pulled the knife out of his back and inserted into the back of Fat Man's neck, severing his spinal column. Jason just pulled his knife out and re-sheathed it. He turned back and headed back towards Akio, satisfied that there was one less scumbag in the world.

* * *

 **Chester safe zone  
Chester Castle**

 **Marsden's office**

 **Z-day + 32  
18:00**

 _Knock! Knock!_

"Come," called Marsden. The door opened and Sergeant Rees marched inside. He was still in his combat fatigues but minus his combat gear (with the exception of his ever-present gas mask and sidearm). He looked tired and Marsden surmised that he was here to make his mission report.

"Sir," he said as he snapped a salute. Marsden returned it but didn't get up from behind his desk.

"Good evening Sergeant. Stand easy," he said. "Your mission report I assume?"

"Yes sir," replied Jason, relaxing to an 'at ease' position.

"Well let's hear it."

"Yes sir," began Jason. "Lance Corporal Akio and I departed towards the target address by way of the south gate at 06:30 hours. By 07:00 hours we'd arrived in the vicinity of the target area when we came across a group of bandits that, after some covert observation, revealed themselves to be the members of the same gang that were in control of the Broughton Safezone. Once we made it to the objective they were back in residence. We were discovered and they engaged us. We returned fire and assaulted the building, killing all 5 X-rays in residence."

"No prisoners?" queried Marsden, cocking an eyebrow. Jason shook his head.

"No sir," he replied. "We did capture one, but in the process of moving him out of the building he made a move I deemed suspicious, so I double tapped him through the heart. We found a revolver in his inside coat pocket."

"I see" replied Marsden. "Continue."

"Sir," said Jason. "After we captured the premises we conducted a search. Aside from some bolt action rifles, sawn off and full-length shotguns and a few handguns, there were no other weapons present."

"No tear gas?"

"No sir."

"Very well. Continue."

"During our exfill we came across a large group of infected that were preventing our continued recon of the area. To solve this, I deployed my LASM on a nearby pickup truck. The truck created enough of a distraction to allow us to slip through and continue to search the area for Mr. Smith. Reluctantly, our search efforts produced no results."

"I see," said Marsden. He digested the report. "All in all an eventful day at the office then. Wouldn't you say?"

"Yes sir," replied Jason. Marsden nodded before his face dropped slightly.

"You should know Sergeant," he said. "Today I received Private Vera's resignation from duty." Jason sighed deeply.

"I'm not surprised sir," he said. "Losing Fred... I mean Private Hansen shook her up. It shook us all up, but especially her. Are you going to except sir?"

"I don't really have much choice," said Marsden. "The council's on my ass about the way we operate. Who known's, letting her go might make them back off a bit."

"Who knows sir," said Jason. Privately he was furious that members of his team were being used as pawns in a political feud, but he couldn't say anything to Marsden.

"Her resignation brings me onto something else," Marsden said. "You're team has been cut in half Sergeant. It doesn't look good."

"I know sir," said Jason. He was painfully aware how losing 50% of his team in a few days would look to everyone else.

"You've also got that stigma for losing young Joyce. But you and Lance Corporal Long are work well together and are some of our best," said Marsden. "This is why I've got a proposition for you."

"Sir?"

"You can either accept some new team members to replace Hansen and Vera. Or, you and Long can remain as you are and operate as a scout sniper team. The choice is yours."

"Thank you, sir. I choose the latter option."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes sir."

"Are you not going to consult with Private Long?"

"I already know her answer sir," replied Jason. "We choose the scout sniper option."

"Very well," said Marsden. "I'll tell Staff Sale. Good work Sergeant. Dismissed."

"Sir!" Jason saluted and departed the office, once he was out of Marsden's sight he started running. He wanted to get to the bunkroom before Alex was gone. After blowing past some cadets and NCO's and nearly crashing into a few officers, he came onto the hallway that his bunkroom was on. He found Alex in the walking down the hallway away from him, dressed in civvies, rather than combats.

"Alex!" he called. She stopped and turned to him. Her face was red and dry, she'd been crying heavily. He came to a stop in front of her.

"I heard you're leaving," he said. She nodded sadly. Jason sighed, "I'm sorry Alex. I should have stopped Mike running! Hell! I shouldn't have taken him..."

"No," said Alex, cutting him off. "It's not your fault, Jason. I know you did everything you could. I... I just need some space."

"I understand," he said. "Where will you go? What will you do?"

"I spoke to the head doctor. They are willing to take me on a nurse. I'll be staying in some lodgings with other nurses."

"A nurse?" Jason asked, exasperated. "Alex, you're a combat medic! You deserve better than making beds and doing rounds!"

"I know," she said. "But I'll take it for now." She put her box of things down and embraced Jason in a warm hug.

"Thank you, boss," she said. Jason embraced her back.

"You're welcome, medic," he said. "If you ever need anything, anything at all, just shout, and Akio and I will come running."

"Thank you," said Alex. They broke the hug before Alex picked up her box of things and continued back down the hallway.

* * *

 **Chester safe zone  
Mickie's bar**

 **Z-day + 32  
21:00**

Akio and Jason walked into the Mickies together. The bar was pretty full of patrons, almost entirely civvies. The bar had become popular, especially with civvies since it was one of the last places with a large stock of booze, but it was also popular with soldiers because it housed 'the board.'

'The Board' was a whiteboard that had been 'borrowed' by a group of soldiers from the school. It had been brought into the Mickies and written in permanent marker along the top was; _'The honoured fallen.'_ Below was a grid with the name, rank and status of every soldier that was dead, or missing or bitten. There was a depressingly long list of names on the board, some 16 names. Jason and Akio walked up to the bar.

"Double vodka." Said Jason, to the bartender, flicking his ration card at him.

"Same," replied Akio. The bartender retreated and returned with their drinks a moment later.

"To Fred," said Akio.

"To Fred," repeated Jason. They knocked back their drinks in a single go. Before ordering another round from the bartender.

"You got the marker pen?" asked Jason. The bartender handed him the pen. Jason thanked him and walked over to the board. He flicked the lid off and wrote in the next empty slot;

 _Fred Hansen. Private. BIA_ * _._

He admired his work for a moment before returning to Akio and his drink.

"Nice to see they care," muttered Akio. Jason looked around at the civvies. Not one of them had taken notice of Fred's name being added to the list of fallen. He wasn't going to have that. Jason grabbed his drink and jumped up on the bar.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! If I may have your attention please!" he shouted over the buzz of conversation, which quickly died and attention went to Jason.

"Yesterday, we lost a good man in the field," explained Jason. "Private Hansen gave his life in an attempt to save a life, and while drawing away, an infected heard so that the rest of the team and a survivor could escape. This is courage of the highest calibre, and I would ask you to stand and raise your glasses in a toast. To Fred."

The bar's patrons stood up with a shuffling of chairs and raised their glasses.

"To Fred," they resounded.

With respects paid, Jason jumped down from his perch and rejoined Akio at the bar.

"You got anywhere to be boss man?" asked Akio.

"Not really," replied Jason. Akio knocked back the rest of her drink.

"Good. Come with me." She led him out of the bar and round the back to a quiet ally.

"What is this Akio?" asked Jason, slightly weary at being led into a dark ally. She stopped in front of him and turned to face him.

"Jason..." she said, almost whispering. "Thank you."

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but she waved him quiet.

"No. Let me finish. What you did today... giving me closure for what he did... no one has ever gone that far, done that much for me. No one. So thank you." She then laughed slightly, "But knowing you you'll just say you would do the same for anyone else, but I just wanted to say thank you."

"Actually," said Jason, "I don't think I would have. Not for just anyone."

Jason strode towards Akio and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Akio, I wouldn't kill for just anyone. Sure, if they're an immediate threat then I'll kill them, but to go out and actively hunt them like we did, to commit what was essentially murder, there are maybe 5 people I would do that for; Fred and Alex are two. Maybe one or two others from before and you. If Fred's death taught me something... it's the value of someone close to you... I guess what I'm trying to say is..."

"Oh shut up and kiss me you fool."

He didn't hesitate and she didn't resist as they melted into each other. As the kiss deepened, Akio's hand's explored Jason's back while his hand's just held her close. As they parted, they looked into each other's eyes. They'd walked into the ally friends, they were now lovers.

"I guess we better head back to the castle," said Jason, "See if the mess hall is still serving."

"Lead the way, boss."

* * *

 **Chester safe zone  
Chester City Centre**

 **Z-day + 38  
17:00**

"You guys ready?" said one teenager.

"Yeah," said another.

"Are you sure about this?" asked the third.

"Come on! It'll be great!" encouraged the second.

The 3 teenage boys set their plan into motion. They were students at the Chester Safezone School, and like most of the students, boredom was a constant problem for them. As a result, the number of pranks around the school had skyrocketed. But this one would make the 3 teenagers be remembered forever.

...

"Thanks for the cut Mrs. Richards," called Jason, as he left the barber shop with a freshly trimmed head of hair. He'd been caught out during the morning inspections by Sergeant Owens for letting his hair get too long. So, after his sniper training with Akio and a group of recruits in training in the morning and afternoon, he'd gone to the barbers that he'd been going to since he was 4.

Mrs. Richards called back thanks as the door closed and Jason continued down the road. He walked into the centre of town, pausing outside the town hall to simply let the bustle of people going about their business swallow him, feeling a sense of peace around him for once... then a woman screamed.

Jason snapped around, standing near to an archway that led towards the school, was a woman, running for her life from a trio of infected. Jason acted on instinct. His Sig was up and on target in a flash, he didn't bother with the suppressor.

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

He fired 3 shots in quick succession, he advanced towards them, weapon raised. He passed the woman who had screamed, who remained speechless as Jason passed her. 2 of the infected were dead outright, their heads each featuring a bleeding hole, the last featured a hole through slightly to the right of the centre line of its neck and was still moaning.

Jason put another round between the eyes of each of them for good measure. Satisfied that the threat from the infected was for now removed. He turned to the woman.

"Are you alright?" he asked, seeing no injury aside from her shock filled face, he started issuing instructions to the gathering crowd. "Sound the alarm! Infected are inside the..."

 _SLAP!_

"MURDERER!" screamed the woman. Jason looked at her blankly before a thought struck him.

 _Their eyes..._

Jason looked back at the 3 'infected' corpses. A closer inspection revealed a shocking truth... they were each wearing heavy makeup, and sported fake plastic scars... and their blood was deep crimson, not the almost black gel that was infected blood. Then it hit him...

He'd just gunned down 3 kids in the street.

Jason looked around. He was surrounded by a mass of civilian onlookers, all surprised and shocked at what Jason had done. Jason looked down at the bodies again.

"Fuck."

"Soldier!" shouted a voice from the crowd. "Put down your weapon and surrender."

Jason looked back at the crowd. 3 police officers were standing forward of the crowd, their weapons trained on Jason. Jason looked down at his Sig. For a moment, he contemplated trying to reason, or even shoot his way out. But he decided against it. He raised his Sig above his head.

"I'm unloading my weapon," replied Jason. He unloaded the magazine, then he racked the slide to eject the round from the chamber. He then placed the unloaded pistol on the ground and kicked it towards the closest police officer.

"Sergeant," said the lead officer, who still hadn't lowered his weapon. "You are under arrest on a charge of murder. You do not have to say anything but anything you do say will be taken and given as evidence. Do you understand?"

"Yes," replied Jason as he sank to his knees and placed his hands on the back of his head, showing the officers that he was not going to put up a fight. As the police officer's cuffed him, all he thought was;

' _Marsden sure as hell ain't gonna like this one.'_

* * *

 ***** BIA: Bitten in Action

 **Dear reader...**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next few will be focusing mainly on the some of the internal affairs of the safezone. Specifically regarding the views of civilians who haven't been outside the wall since the outbreak started.**

 **This chapter took quite a large influence from the book "The Reclaiming" by D.J. MOLLES.**

 **Anyway, Chapter 11 is in the works and probably will be out before too long**

 **Oh, for suggestions for the story I'd prefer you to PM them to me rather than put them in a review.**

 **As ever please Review, follow, and favourite And I'll see you guys next time**

 **Jango**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: If you could take the time to review to let me know where I can improve, it would be greatly appreciated. End of comm.**

* * *

Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak

 **Chapter 11: Friends, Duty, Honour.**

 **Chester safe zone  
Safe Zone Police Station**

 **Z-day + 38  
18:00**

Marsden stormed into the police station, accompanied by Staff Sergeant Sale. He'd heard about what happened with Sergeant Rees, and to put it plainly, he was pissed as hell about it.

From what he'd heard, 3 teenagers thought it would be 'funny' to dress up and act like infected in the centre of town after school. And upon seeing 3 'infected' within the walls, Sgt Rees had promptly opened fire and neutralised them. He'd then been arrested and charged with murder, which it effectively was.

He and Sale marched up to the desk and were greeted by a particularly brutish looking police officer.

"Can I help you?" he asked incredulously.

"You arrested one of my soldiers on a charge of murder." Said Marsden. "I want to see him. Now."

"You can't," said the officer. "He's still being questioned. Besides, there's not much to talk about, he straight up murdered 3 kids. You should remind your soldiers who the enemy is."

Marsden was furious and was about to give the policeman a piece of his mind before Chief Inspector Cook appeared from behind a door.

"Ah Major," he said, greeting Marsden. "You've saved me a trip to find you. I need to talk to you about today's unfortunate incident."

"And I you Chief Inspector." Replied Marsden. The Chief Inspector lead Marsden and Sale into the back and to his office. Cook sat down behind the desk in the room while Sale and Marsden took seats in the 2 chairs opposite.

"I'll give you a rundown of what happened." Said Cook. "It seems that the 3 teenage boys got a hold of some zombie Halloween costumes and decided to wear them and act like infected in the middle of town by way of a joke, according to some of their classmates. Sergeant Rees, who was in the middle of town, said he heard a woman scream and saw the boys. He identified them as actual infected and opened fire. It was only after he'd put 2 rounds into each of the 3 that he identified them as uninfected."

"I see." Said Sale. "So it boils down to an accident then?"

"I'm afraid the population doesn't see it that way." Said Cook. "They see it as a soldier gunning down 3 schoolboys in the street. They are pushing for a murder conviction, and we all know what the penalty for that is."

"Death." Surmised Marsden. Once it became apparent that the Chester was indeed alone, the city's council had decided that in order to maintain law and order in the desperate times, the death penalty and other long abandoned punishments would be revised. And for high-level offences such as rape and murder, it was the death penalty. So far it had not been used, but Jason could well be the first.

"I don't think this is just about what he did, though." Said Cook. "I think this incident is acting as a focus point for all the grumblings and frustration that the civvies have towards the military. I think we can all expect this turn ugly."

"How is Sergeant Rees?" asked Sale.

"Fine." Replied Cook. "He stuck to the same story through questioning. Admitting to killing them but only because he took them for infected and for no other reason. And from what evidence we've gathered, we've found nothing to the contrary."

"Where is he now?"

"In his cell below. Still doing press ups probably." Said Cook.

"Go and check on him, Staff." Ordered Marsden.

"Sir." Replied Staff Sale as he stood up and headed out of the office, leaving Marsden and Cook alone.

"Reva has called a council meeting tomorrow." Said Cook.

"I know." Replied Marsden. "What are Jason's chances?"

"If they are objective and focus only on this event, pretty good." Replied Cook. "If they do what I think they will and pick him apart to get dirt on the military and use that against him, slim to none." Marsden glared at Cook.

"We don't do anything that would..." Cook cut him off.

"I know," He said, "But the people want the military brought down a peg or too. And they're going to give anything your Sergeant will give them to do it. Reasonable or otherwise."

...

 **Meanwhile...**

 _47...48... 49..._

Jason felt beads of sweat run down his forehead as he continued to push out press ups. When he'd been taken in, the police had naturally stripped him of his sidearm, knife, spare ammo, gas mask, its pouch and his pistol holster (although they'd missed his boot knife). They'd dragged him off to questioning after emptying his pockets of anything, (ration cards and a few other odds and ends.) and started trying to get a confession out of him. He just kept to the same story of; yes he killed them, but it was an unfortunate accident because they were dressed and acting like infected. After they'd questioned him and he kept stonewalling them with the same answers, they'd taken him up to a cell.

He was actually slightly annoyed to find that the cell had an actual bed with a mattress, something he and his team hadn't seen or slept in for a while. Still, he wasn't about to order them to remove it so he decided to keep it for now. So with nothing better to do, Jason removed his fatigue shirt so he just had his green undershirt and fatigue trousers, and started pushing out press ups.

 _50...51...52..._

"Sergeant." Said a voice. Jason looked up to see Staff Sergeant Sale standing on the other side of the cell's bars. Jason jumped up from his prone press up position and snapped to attention.

"Staff," He replied. Sale smiled, even in the slammer, Jason was still playing the good soldier.

"At ease." Said Sale. "How are you doing?"

"Oh good, thank you, staff." Replied Jason. "The bed is a nice touch but the room service is just atrocious." Sale smirked but then turned serious.

"Sergeant... seriously."

"I'm totally buggered, aren't I staff?" Said Jason. "I gunned down 3 kids in the street, without warning or hesitation. There's no way in fuck I'm walking out of this one."

"You did the right thing, though." Replied Sale. Jason laughed.

"Yeah, but they won't give a damn." He laughed hysterically back, before continuing while degenerating into a manic, almost painful voice. "If it were a military tribunal or court martial I'd be fine! But it's not! I'm going to be dragged in front of and lynched by a bunch of self-centred, self-righteous ass-covering bureaucrats that haven't even seen an infected! Let alone killed one or watched their friends get torn apart by them! Then replay it in their sleep EVERY FUCKING NIGHT!"

Jason finally finished balling and was breathing deeply. He looked Sale in the eyes again.

"I'm not getting out of this one alive. Am I staff?"

Sale flexed a finger at Jason in a 'come here' motion. Jason stepped up to the bars. Sale put a hand through the bars and slapped Jason on the back of the head. It was something Sale had used many times, as a kind of 'reset' for soldiers who needed to get their shit together.

"Thank you staff." Replied Jason, who reverted back to the polite, charming NCO he normally was.

"We'll do everything we can Sergeant." Said Sale as he turned to leave. "Carry on."

Staff Sale departed from the front of the cell, leaving Jason alone to think. After a moment he smiled, before getting down on his face and started pushing out press-ups.

 _1...2...3..._

* * *

 **Marsden's Office**

 **Chester Safezone  
** **Chester Castle**

 **Z-day + 39  
09:00**

 _Knock! Knock!_

"Come!" called Marsden. Staff Sale entered the room.

Marsden had summoned him when he had returned from the city council meeting, which had in itself had been a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Mrs. Bell had been even more of a pain than usual and dismissed Marsden's argument that Rees should be let off, that he was merely doing his duty. Instead, she announced that a simple murder trial would be brought up to a full, no red tape, enquiry, not only into the incident but as to why Sergeant Rees thought it appropriate to act as he did. (i.e. why he gave no warning etc)

"Sir." Greeted Sale, snapping off a salute to Marsden. Marsden waved him down and Sale sat down in a chair opposite Marsden.

"I'm guessing the meeting didn't go well, sir." Guessed Sale knowingly. Marsden nodded before he explained the meeting's result.

"Mrs. Bell has pushed for and is getting a no red tape inquiry into the incident. Basically, she's going to use this incident to dig into the way we do things and point and call us out on anything and everything we do, and then use it all to condemn Rees and do damage to us."

"Well then, this probably isn't going to help." Said Sale regretfully. "I overheard some of the other soldiers and I've heard similar rumours floating around. The general consensus amongst the military is that Sergeant Rees did his duty and the right thing and personally, I am inclined to agree. If they were real infected then he'd be seen as a hero, not a murderer. But where it get's prickly is that if they sentence Rees to death, the council will be, in the eyes of almost every soldier, be sentencing one of the most experienced and best soldiers on the base to death for doing his job. As soon as they do that, every soldier is going to become concerned that they will be next and executed for killing infected. That, in turn, could lead to mutiny and we both know where that would lead."

"Indeed." Said Marsden. It was doubtless in his mind that a mass mutiny from the army would leave the safe zone in ruins, if not defenceless and overrun by infected.

"I told the council as much." Added Marsden. "Mrs. Bell dismissed this as impossible and that they were 'duty bound' to do as the council commands. I don't think she realizes that the soldiers that make up the army aren't robots, but thinking people, and they will won't follow a leader that is sentencing their colleagues to death for doing their job."

"It seems to me that the best way to avoid all this unpleasantness is to get Rees off free." Said Sale. Marsden agreed.

"But how to do it?"

"We could have him psychologically profiled compared to other soldiers of similar age and experience as well as other teenagers." Suggested Sale. Marsden looked astounded.

"Are you mad?!" he asked, "These soldiers kill for a living on a near daily basis! Some of them enjoy it! What do you think the quack* would make of them?! Next idea!"

"We just put everything on the table," Said Sale, "Let Rees and other soldiers tell them how it is in plain, simple terms, no matter how blunt. It might help to see if we can bring any character witnesses for Rees."

"And when they don't believe him? A good number of civvies still think of the infected as human." Marsden asked. Sale shrugged.

"We bring an infected into the courtroom and see if that convinces them as to whether it's still human." Marsden was silent for a moment before his mouth twitched upwards slightly at the thought of Mrs. Bell's reaction to having an infected brought into the courtroom, and then he chuckled before breaking out into open laughter, Sale joining in eventually.

"But seriously sir," said Sale, "I'll speak to Rees and get some character witnesses for him." Marsden nodded,

"Good. If we all sing from the same hymn sheet, we might get out of this in one piece." Sale nodded and then turned to leave. But paused when Marsden added,

"Staff. Just in case this goes completely tits up, I want you to come up with a way to get Rees out of this quietly, off the record of course."

"Sir." Was Sale's reply before he left Marsden's office. He was going to be damned if he was going to let one of his soldiers be executed for doing his duty, regardless of who got in the way... Mrs. Bell least of all.

* * *

 **Jason**

 **Chester Safezone  
Court House**

 **Z-day + 41  
09:58**

Jason shifted slightly in his combat fatigues. He knew full well that the outcome of today would decide if he was to be returned to duty, or executed. He was in the company of 2 policemen, and his hands were cuffed behind his back. They were to be his escort for the proceedings. As they waited in silence in one of the courthouse waiting rooms, Jason simply ran over what Staff Sergeant Sale had told him to say.

" _Tell' em how it is. They won't want to hear it, but tell' em how it is."_

"Yes, Staff Sergeant." Mumbled Jason.

"You say something?" grunted one of the policemen.

"Nothing important." Replied Jason. A door then opened and a court bailiff appeared in the door. The policemen stood and brought Jason with them. They lead him into the defendant dock, a wooden cupola surrounded by hardened glass. The 2 police officers pushed him forward and then stood behind him. The courthouse was packed with people. For the most part, they were civilians, all turned out in their Sunday best (or what counted for Sunday best in the zombie apocalypse) to watch the proceedings.

Amongst the crowd, Jason also spotted Sale, Marsden, a few other soldiers and, among them, Akio. She had come to visit him every day in lock up, even smuggling him extra rations and such with her for him. Jason felt lucky, no matter how this turned out, Akio would have his back.

"All rise." Called the Bailiff. Everyone stood as 3 people, 2 middle aged women and 1 slightly older man, filled into the courtroom. Jason did not recognise the man or one of the women, but he did recognise Mrs. Reva, the head of the zone council. She'd taken an inspection of the military some weeks earlier, but hadn't spoken to Jason. She spoke aloud to the room;

"Today's inquiry will be on the subject of the shooting that took place some 3 days ago by the defendant. Would the defendant please state his name, rank and unit for the record?"

"Jason Rees. Sergeant. First Chester Militia Company, Special Operations Detachment, Sniper Team Viking." Said Jason clearly. A scribe noted down the information while Mrs. Reva spoke.

"Very well. Then we can commence proceedings. Please be seated." There was the brief sound of fabric brushing and wood scratching as people sat down. Jason continued to stand, having no chair to sit down in. And so the questioning began. The woman who Jason did not recognise spoke first.

"Mr. Rees, I take it you were offered a suit to wear during this enquiry?"

"I was ma'am." Replied Jason.

"Then why are you wearing your camouflage uniform?"

"To remind the court that I am a soldier. Not the insane psychopath that I have been described as in the rumours. And besides, these combats are far more comfortable than a suit." The remark caused a buzz of conversation in the crowd, the woman looked annoyed.

"Mr. Rees," she pressed, "I am not sure you understand the severity of the situation you find yourself in."

"Oh, I understand perfectly." Replied Jason. "You want to execute me for doing my job." The buzz of conversation returned but seemed slightly more outraged this time. The woman glared at him.

"Mr. Rees! You murdered 3 innocent schoolboys in the street! Your _job_ is to defend this safe zone and its inhabitants! Not gun down those you are supposed to protect!" Jason glared back at her.

"Ma'am. I cut the BS and spell it out for you. Did I kill those boys? Yes. Do I regret that I killed them? No. Because I perceived them as a threat to life and acted with appropriate force. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat, as any good soldier would." The crowd's disapproval grew and Mrs. Reva called for silence, which was headed after a moment. Jason continued before the accusing woman could steal a march on him.

"It's all very well criticizing and judging me with the benefit of hindsight, 'oh he gunned down 3 kids! He's clearly a murdered! Lock him up!' Etcetera! Etcetera!" When I looked at them, I did not see 3 school boys playing a practical joke. I saw 3 of the most dangerous creatures to ever walk this earth. An immediate threat to the lives of every man, woman and child in the safe zone. So I acted on what instinct, training and personal experience has taught me. And if you had had any significant contact with any infected, you would have done the same in my position." The woman was taken aback with Jason's remarks. Then Jason added.

"Also Ma'am. It's _Sergeant_ Rees. I have earned that title and you will address me as such."

Jason took a deep breath, the woman who'd been questioning him was cut off by the gentleman, taking his opportunity to cross-examine Jason.

"Sergeant," he began, "You speak as if those infected with... well... whatever is causing this sickness, are just a bunch of wild animals. They are still people, just sick." A few of the soldiers shook their heads in despair and Jason shook his head at the man.

"They are not people sir," He replied, "They may once have been, but there is nothing left of who they once were. They're killing machines nothing more."

"And what do you base this opinion on?" asked the man.

"Personal experience sir." Replied Jason. "I have seen infected rip into the living with no sign of hesitation or remorse. Tear them to shreds right in front of me. I have seen a mother, rip apart her own infant daughter, a husband his wife and other cases that I do not care to mention. Whatever they may be now sir, they are not people anymore."

"That's crazy!" shouted a man from the audience. Standing up and pointing at Jason. "Of course, they're still people! You're lying to save your murdering hide!"

"Quiet in the stands please." Said Mrs. Reva. The man sat down and Mrs. Reva turned to Jason. "He does have a point, however, Sergeant. What you are implying is farfetched to say the least."

"Is it?" asked Jason. "I suggest you ask anyone, soldier or civilian who's had firsthand close contact with the infected. I doubt they will tell you anything different."

"Your honour, if I may?" said Marsden, standing from his seat. "We have several character witnesses for Sergeant Rees. Some of whom can support his claims."

"We shall hear them later Major." Said Mrs. Reva. "For now, I wish to return to the examining the incident in question. Sergeant, your own testimony and those of witnesses state that no warning was given prior to you firing your weapon. Is it true that no warning was given?"

"That is correct. I gave no warning." Replied Jason.

"So you don't give warnings when you attack a target?" surmised Mrs. Reva.

"Not infected ones, no." Replied Jason.

"But you do to 'living' targets?"

"To human targets, Yes."

"So why not to 'infected' targets?"

"Because the infected take no notice of warnings. They won't stop and surrender if you ask them to. All you would accomplish is letting them know you were there, as well as letting every other infected that heard you that you are there. It would be like standing up in a firefight and shouting and waving to the enemy 'I'm over here! Please kill me!'"

"So, you don't give infected a warning because they are attracted by sound, yet you use a gun to engage them?"

"Only because the threat needed to be removed immediately. Had I have more time, I would have attached my sidearm's suppressor, or gotten closer so I could dispatch them with my knife."

"I see." Said Mrs. Reva. "And what about when you are engaging 'human' targets?" Jason sighed.

"The rules of engagement state that we must give a clear, verbal warning to any target."

"Do you?"

"Yes." Jason lied. The thought of Fat Man and his group came to mind.

"So what applies to one enemy doesn't the other?"

"That is correct."

"So what are we supposed to tell the parents of the deceased?" cut in the first woman again. "That their sons died because they were mistaken for the wrong type of enemy?"

"Officially I'd phrase it more along the lines of 'I regret to inform you that your sons are dead due to an accident.' Unofficially I'd say 'your sons are dead because they were stupid' ma'am. " Replied Jason. The voice of uproar returned but this time, it was Jason who silenced it.

"No!" he almost shouted. "Those 3 boys took a conscious decision to act like zombies in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, specifically in the middle of a place with a large presence of soldiers whose job is to kill zombies on a daily basis. If they had the slightest bit of sense then they would have realized what they were doing was both dangerous and stupid and stopped."

Everyone was surprised by Jason's outburst, and the crowd started throwing open, violent accusations at him. Jason remained silent, he simply stood at ease in his defendant stall. Eventually, Mrs. Reva managed to appeal for quiet and eventually got it.

"Officers, please escort the defendant back to his cell. We shall recall him when we need him. For now, I think we should hear some of these witness statements for the defendant."

One of the police officers pulled over his shoulder, Jason gave one last glance around the courtroom before he turned and left the booth. The cops escorted him back to his cell in the police station. On the way through the streets, Jason saw the eyes and thoughts of on lockers.

' _Murderer...'_

' _Child killer...'_

' _Monster...'_

Jason didn't care. None of them had seen what he'd seen, done what he'd done. They were civilians, it was their prerogative, their privilege to complain, bitch, and whine about every little politically incorrect and accidental incident. It was times like these, he really wished they had something like national service, to _make them_ go out and face and fight the infected, not just hide behind soldiers who were fighting and dying for them. Maybe then they wouldn't be so hostile and understand.

They arrived back at the police station and Jason was put back in his cell. Jason put his hands through the bars and they removed his cuffs. Jason removed his fatigue smock and climbed into bed.

He fell asleep in moments.

...

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

" _Contact front! Contact front!"_

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

" _Here they come! Weapons free! Weapons free!"_

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

" _Man down! Sergeant! Sergeant!"_

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Sergeant!"

Jason bolted up in bed, hands up and preparing for a fight. Instead, he found himself in his cell, one of the policemen outside his cell and banging his baton between the bars.

"Oi, Soldier boy!" he jeered. "Up and at'em! They need you back at the inquest, they're going to give their verdict."

"How long was I asleep?" asked Jason as he rolled out of bed and pulled on his smock.

"'bout 4 hours," he replied "Now come on. Against the wall. "

Jason zipped up his smock and duly put his hands behind his back and faced the wall. The sound of the cell door opening signalled that if Jason was to make a run for it, now would be the time to attack the guard with his boot knife (something they'd missed on their initial search) make his way to the closest gate and get through it and out, but he decided against it. There were too many variables and besides, there was no guarantee that they were going to sentence him to death.

The copper cuffed him and then lead him out of the cell. They met up with one of his colleagues and he was marched back to the courthouse, and back into the same defendant, stand as before. This time, however, amongst the crowd of people, were quite a number of familiar faces, including Mr and Mrs Wilson, Mr. Yates, Kinkaid and Alex. They all looked at Jason as he was lead into the cupola, and Alex offered him a nod and smile. Jason returned the smile but turned to the panel of the 3 judges.

"Sergeant Rees," began Mrs. Reva. "We have heard some 15 character references from that were given in your name. And to be honest, I think that you should be proud. Not many people of your age could be capable of some of the feats you have accomplished, and you have rightly earned your rank and position. However, I cannot in good conscious ignore, not only the incident of which you stand accused but also the bluntness in which you have defended yourself, which has bordered at times on downright rudeness." She paused and took a deep breath.

"On the charge of 3 counts of murder, we find you guilty. You will not, however, be sentenced to death, in recognition of your outstanding military service. Instead, you are sentenced to exile from this safe zone. You will be given a day's worth of food and supplies, and escorted to the east gate, where you will be turned loose into the world as it now is. For as long as you may live. With this sentencing, we conclude proceedings."

Jason was taken away in silence while the crowd of spectators started debating amongst themselves as to whether it was a just punishment, or whether they felt that the council was letting him off easy.

Personally, Jason didn't care what they thought, if they let him out there without weapons, supplies and or a plan, he'd probably be dead by dawn.

* * *

 **Marsden's Office**

 **Chester Safezone  
** **Chester Castle**

 **Z-day + 41  
13:00**

"So how many pallets do you think he'd need?" asked Marsden

"About 20ish, I'd say." Replied Sale, contemplating the thoughts.

"Make sure they are made ready." Ordered Marsden.

"Sir." Replied Staff Sale. He got up to leave and was just about to open the door himself when it exploded open in front of him. Standing in front of him was a very red in the face, and very angry Lance Corporal Long. She pushed past him and started shouting.

"Sir! You can't let them exile Jason! If they send him out there without weapons he will die!"

"Lance Corporal!" Sale shouted, "You forget yourself. You will not speak to your commanding officer in such a way."

"It's ok Staff." Said Marsden. "I will speak with Lance Corporal Long in private. Carry on with your duties."

"Sir." Replied Sale. He snapped a salute to Marsden before leaving the office and closing the door.

"Have a seat." Said Marsden motioning to the seat opposite his desk. Akio sat down and Marsden explained.

"First off I must say this is strictly hush-hush. You were going to be informed in time but given your relationship with Sergeant Rees, I may as well tell you now." He sighed before continuing.

"I have no intention of letting the council send Sergeant Rees to his death for what was, when it boils down to it, an accident. However, we cannot openly disobey an order from the council. So we have an assignment for him that will keep him out of sight out of mind for a while. The only difficult bit is that he has to get there quickly and quietly with no support."

"Ok, sir." Replied Akio, "What's the assignment?"

"You remember that hotel that you and your team bunked in on that first overnight patrol?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, we want to turn it, along with a few other sites into forward patrol bases. To launch patrols from, train new recruits in the field from and to give us advanced warning of any incoming threats. We want Sergeant Rees to go ahead to clear it and secure it for us, then run it for us."

"So, he just has to get to a hotel about 10 miles from here, with no weapons, no support, with limited supplies." Surmised Akio. Marsden smiled.

"Pretty much. I think you underestimate your boyfriends survival ability." Akio immediately blushed red.

"I don't know..."

"We were all teenagers once Lance Corporal." Replied Marsden with a smile. "There are less than 2000 people in this safe zone and teenagers will be teenagers, it was bound to happen. Don't let us catch you both on the job."

"Yes, sir." Replied Akio. "Permission to go and tell the Sergeant about his assignment?"

"Denied." Replied Marsden. Akio went back to looking annoyed. "I'm sorry, but we need to keep this as quiet as possible. I will brief him later. For now, I need you to pack up his patrol bag and get him some civvies. We need his leaving to look convincing."

"Yes, sir." Replied Akio. She stood up, saluted and left the office for the bunk room.#

* * *

 **Chester safe zone  
Safe Zone Police Station**

 **Z-day + 41  
18:00**

Jason pulled on the last of the civvies that he'd been given for his exile. A pair of jeans, t-shirt and a hoody, not exactly what he'd pick for a night in the land of the undead. But at least, he got to keep his assault boots (and the knife they had in them).

He'd received a briefing from Marsden. All he had to do was get across some 10 miles of zombie infested countryside, with the sun going down.

' _Maybe I shouldn't have told him I love a challenge.'_ He thought. One of the policemen arrived at his cell.

"Let's go, soldier boy." He sneered. Jason frowned back at the man, before standing from his bed. The policeman escorted him out of the station for the last time and led him towards the Safe zone's east gate.

"So how long do you think you'll last?" asked the cop. Even though he was behind Jason, he knew he was smiling. "A day? And hour?"

"A bit longer I reckon." Replied Jason. They rounded the last corner and walked towards the guarded gate.

"Oh, please." Replied the cop, "You're going to be alone, unequipped and unarmed and alone. How are you going to survive?" As they got closer. They both saw that Marsden, Akio and Sale were waiting for them.

"Who said I'd be unarmed?" replied Jason. Marsden acknowledged their arrival.

"Thank you, officer," said Marsden. "You can uncuff my Sergeant and leave us now."

"Can't do that sir." Replied the officer, "I have to ensure that the prisoner goes into exile. Say your goodbyes then I'll get him out of here." Marsden Sighed.

"Very well." Said Marsden. The officer uncuffed him and Marsden began.

"Sergeant. We've calculated the back pay owed to you by the army, and it comes to £2,588.17, enough around here to buy one L85A2 rifle and 6 loaded magazines, an ammo belt for it, as well as a Sig 226 with a suppressor and 4 loaded magazines. I assume you'd like to purchase these items?"

"You'd be correct sir." Replied Jason. Sale stepped forward with the implied weapons and ammo belt. Jason clipped on the ammo belt before excepting the pistol in its holster and clipping it to his thigh. The police officer was having a fit as Jason excepted and loaded the L85.

"You can't give him weapons!" he shouted. "He could turn around and kill someone!"

"Office. If he wanted to kill someone, namely you, he would have done so with the boot knife he's had sheathed in his right boot since you arrested him." Sale told the officer before turning to Jason.

"Good luck out there Rees. Remember your training and you'll be fine."

"Thanks, staff." Replied Jason. Akio then stepped forward holding his patrol bag, which was evidently full.

"I packed up some water, MRE's and some other survival kit that you'll need." Said Akio as she passed him the bag. "It should be enough to get you where you're going."

"Thank you, Akio." Said Jason as he took the bag, put it on the ground and enveloped her in a warm hug with an affectionate kiss. She did not resist but instead just melted into him. He broke apart after a moment and whispered to her,

"I'll see you later."

"I know you will," She whispered back. They broke apart and Jason picked up his bag.

"Got everything sorted then Sergeant?" asked Marsden who was smiling slightly.

"Just one last thing Sir." Said Jason. He pointed to a private who was on guard duty nearby. "Private. Your bayonet please."

"What?" replied the Private incredulously.

"Private! Bayonet, now!" ordered Sale. The private instantly drew his bayonet and handed it to Sale, who took it and handed it to Jason, who fixed it to his L85.

"Ready." Said Jason. He lowered his rifle and snapped to attention before saluting Marsden and Sale.

"It's been an honour sir, staff," He said. They snapped to and saluted him back. He shot a wink to Akio who smiled devilishly back. Jason then dropped the salute, charged his rifle and turned to the gate.

"Into the valley of the shadow of death and all that." Muttered Jason. The gate was opened for him. He could see that there were a few infected closing, maybe 200 meters out. He looked back at Akio and smiled.

"See you in hell."

He charged through the gates, and they closed behind him.

* * *

 **Dear Reader,**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. from some of the reviews and PM's I was getting,**

 **From some of the reviews and PM's I was getting, I got the feeling some of you thought they main characters were a bit too safe, something which the characters really weren't in the anime.**

 **To address this, for now the safe zone will become, I won't say absent, but move more into the background. Still prominent in the story, but not as common a setting for the story... for now. We're also getting a new character next chapter.**

 **Also, to answer one question I got asked, for reasons that will come apparent in a few chapters we're going to say the outbreak starts April 2016. There is a reason for this, and they will become more apparent soon, but is not major for now.**

 **Next chapter will be out... I don't know when, probably sometime during February but that's not a definite.**

 **As ever, if you have any suggestions please PM them to me, keep them on the vague side or realism if you could.**

 **Please drop me a review, follow and favorite, it is greatly appreciated.**

 **Oh, and one last thing, you guys are awesome :)**

 **Jango**


	12. Chapter 12

**Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak**

Chapter 12: The black swordsman

 **½ mile outside Chester Safezone**

 **Z-day + 41  
18:10**

Jason watched and waited in cover, trying to deduce if his target building was, in fact, empty as he suspected it was. He did not mean to stay in the shop that he was watching for long, just long enough to go through the kit Akio had given him, and time to plan his next move. After a few minutes, and with the sun beginning to go down, he decided to go in.

He drew his pistol and screwed on his suppressor. He took a deep breath, took a look around and then moved in, sweeping his pistol left to right for threats. The shop was a typical run of the mill convenience store; he'd picked it because it would offer a counter for him to search through his bag on, and also yielded the possibility of some bonus supplies.

That idea went out the window pretty quick when he entered the store. The shelves had been picked clean of almost anything worth taking. All that was left was some decaying food, a few magazines, and some bottles of alcohol. Jason cleared the store quickly and shut the door before putting his bag on the counter. He holstered his sig and opened it up, sorting through the contents.

"Ok, we got rat packs, radio, water bladder, purification tablets, a flare gun with 2 shells, cleaning kits, mess tins, camping stove and gas bottle, and... Hello, night vision minoculars!"

Jason put the contents back in the bag, putting the goggles in last so he could get at them easily. He then looked at his watch and planned his next move.

It was coming up on 18:15. Being mid-May, that meant he had roughly 3 hours of sunlight left and a little under 10 miles to cover. It wouldn't be impossible to make it to the hotel before nightfall, but it would be cutting it close and didn't leave any time to be held up by groups of infected or survivors.

'I don't want to be out after dark but I want to get close to the hotel with what light is left. Let's see, somewhere I can bunk down... got it, Tim's house.'

Tim was an old friend of Jason's, they'd been bro's for years. If he was at his house, he wouldn't' mind Jason crashing there and he wouldn't mind given the circumstance. Jason packed up his kit, taking a moment to have a look through the shop and looted a bottle of Jack Daniels and a can of tomato soup before heading back out into the unknown.

...

After nearly 3 hours of stealthy travel, Jason was finally on Tim's street.

The street was a typical council estate suburb, consisting of identical 2 storeys, yellow brick rendered, semi-detached houses, each with a garage attached. There were signs of a rush evacuation; car's missing, suitcases and bags left in the driveway, some open from when their owners had tried to grab some last personal items before jumping into their cars and running for their lives. There was a lot of blood on the ground, in the windows, on the cars, everywhere. And of course, they were here... in force.

"Jesus, can't you lot just bugger off somewhere else?" muttered Jason. He was crouched behind a hedge, sizing up his options.

There were about 30 odd of them in the open, plus who knows how many he couldn't see. Too many for knife and bayonet. He could shoot them, but his L85 would make a hell of a lot of noise, drawing out the ones in the houses, and any who heard the gunshot echo. He could do it with his suppressed pistol, but he'd burn through most of his ammo, and he still had about 6 miles to cover tomorrow before he got to the hotel. If only he could thin out the number of infected then he stood a better chance.

He looked around for an option. He thought about to possibility of tripping a car alarm, but then spotted something better. In the front yard of one of the houses was a metal cage, and inside it was a collection of gas bottles. He quickly pulled out the flare gun and loaded a shell

"I hope they're full," Muttered Jason as he trained his L85 on them. He took a deep breath and fired.

Ka-pow! Ka-pow!

The gas bottles shook as they were hit and Jason could hear them leaking gas. He lowered his rifle and picked up the flare gun. He pointed it at the bottles and fired.

Thump... BOOM!

Jason looked away from the flash and put his arm up to shield his face from the blast, but even as the heat wave hit him, his face was covered with a shit ass grin. He reversed himself and ran for the back garden of the nearest house, kicking the gate open and moving into the back garden. He could see over the back fence, there was a string of identical garden fences, and he could see Tim's house down the line, about 8 houses down. Jason looked at the fences again, then smirked as he had an idea.

He removed the bayonet from his L85 and stowed it before slinging the rifle. He made sure all his kit was secure before getting ready to run at the fence.

"What's the matter Danny?" he muttered, "Never taken a shortcut before?" he rushed the fence and jumped, putting his hands on the top and flicking his legs up and over. He landed on the other side on his feet and kept running, vaulting over the next fence and the next. At the 6th fence, he landed hard and stumbled forward, crashing through the 7th fence and landing face first into a flowerbed. He pulled his face out of the dirt and spat out some fertiliser.

"Ok... that didn't happen," he said. He stood up and looked around, thankfully there were no infected in the garden so he took a moment to drink some water from his water bladder and wash the remaining dirt from his mouth. He then peaked over the last fence into Tim's garden. There were no infected in the garden, and he couldn't see anyone in the house's windows. He removed his patrol bag and lightly chucked it over the fence, it landed in the garden with a light thud on the overgrown grass. Jason then vaulted the fence, landing in the garden at a crouch and raised his L85 on the house. After a second of stillness, Jason reclaimed his bag and moved toward the back kitchen door. He knocked at the door, after waiting a moment with no answer; he retrieved the spare key which Tim always kept under a plant pot by the door. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The kitchen was empty of life, but there were signs that someone had been there recently; there was an empty, opened tin of baked beans on the kitchen counter, and the sauce on the tin was still fresh. He then moved through the house silently, his L85 ready at his shoulder. The living room had more signs of someone having been in residence; the sofa looked like it had been slept in, and there was a duvet on the floor nearby.

Jason kept moving. He moved upstairs as quietly as he could, the landing was clear and he went to the first room, the bathroom.

The sink inside was covered in blood, some fresh and some dried. There was a pair of bloody scissors on the counter, as well as a roll of dressing and empty packets of medication on the side. Someone had defiantly had a bad day here, and they weren't long gone. He moved into the next room, the bedroom was clear and then he moved to Tim's room.

As expected, the room was empty of life. The room was a typical teenage boy's bedroom; there was a poster of a pin-up girl on the wall, a desk with a laptop and some photo's on the desk, and an unmade bed. Jason moved over to the desk. He picked up one of the photo's and blew away the light covering of dust. It was a picture of Tim and himself, taken a few years prior on top of a Welsh hill; they were both exhausted to the bone but happy and proud, because they'd just completed their silver DofE expedition. He put the photo down and cleared the rest of the house.

...

 **30 minutes later**

Jason breezed through the book he'd found as he waited for the ration pack to finish cooking on the camping stove he'd placed on the desk. He dumped the book; it was boring and suffered from a severe lack of naked women and fast cars. Instead of searching for another to read, he decided to check on the zombie contingent outside. He'd last checked on them 5 minutes ago, but he knew that even as slow as they were, a lot could change in 5 minutes.

He looked out of the window, sticking to the shadows so that if there was someone out there, they wouldn't see him as easily standing in the window. There were about 20 or so in the street, mainly meandering around, moving on anything that attracted them. Jason was about to move away when he saw them react to something. He moved so he could see what it was more easily.

To his surprise, it was a person. He couldn't see much of them, due to a combination of the low evening light but also because they were wearing what looked like a black coat of some type. To Jason's surprise, the figure reached across himself and drew a sword, before charging forward into the infected.

The first infected fell as the swordsman decapitated it with a single stroke of steel, and gore, and he kept the momentum going. Jason watched astounded. He'd seen Akio do incredible feats of CQC with infected, but she was more of a ballet dancer, often weaving around infected to dispatch them from behind or a blind spot. This person, however, was more like a battle tank, killing absolutely anything and everything that came near him from the front.

Jason thought the action was cut short when an infected managed to get around to the swordsman's left and bite him in the arm. But the swordsman seemed to be phased little and unaffected by this, and he simply dispatched the infected by bringing his sword around and taking off most of the infected's head.

Jason then realized something; this swordsman was certainly killing everything in front of him, there were infected coming up behind him. If this kept up, not only would he get tired, but he'd also get overrun and killed. Jason thought he was, at least, worth meeting, and who know's, maybe he could convince him to tag along.

Jason grabbed his pistol and suppressor and rushed downstairs. He didn't bother grabbing his kit but did make to turn off the gas under his ration pack. Jason emerged into the street with weapon raised; he fired into an infected that was just behind the swordsman. The swordsman spun round, staring at the dead infected, he then looked at Jason.

They looked each other in the eye.

"I've your back. Keep doing what you do," said Jason as he popped off another infected.

"I like to know who has my back mate," replied the swordsman, stepping in and dispatching another infected with a slash from his sword.

"Talk later. Fight now," replied Jason. The 2 fighters resumed their brawl with death incarnate. Occasionally they would glance back at one another, to see if one was turning to kill the other. Only to see each other in their element, of the swordsman slashing and slicing his way through infected with his sword, creating arcs of blood and gore lead by flashes of steel. And of Jason, steadily and calmly putting rounds into the infected with pinpoint accuracy, creating neat holes in their foreheads.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Click!

"I'm out," called Jason. He instantly regretted not grabbing more magazines for his Sig. Instead, he holstered the weapon and pulled his knife. It didn't really matter, though, there were only 3 left in front of him. As the closest reached to grab him he stepped forward and planted a front thrust kick into its chest. Jason went for a low sweep as it stumbled back and it collapsed to the tarmac. With both hands, he then dropped his knife into its forehead, killing it. Jason was about to rise to engage the next when a glistening arc went over his head as the swordsman slashed horizontally at the Infected.

With the 2nd infected being dealt with by the swordsman, Jason focused on the 3rd and final one. He pulled his knife out and stood up. He dropped into the Zenkutsu Dachi front stance that Akio had taught him. He waited for them to get close before snapping off a roundhouse kick into the infected's head. It collapsed over to the side as the boot armoured foot made contact with the side of its head. As it sprawled on the floor, Jason brought his leg up and dropped it on the infected head finishing it with a well-placed axe kick. Jason pulled his boot out of the infected caved in face, wiping the core and blood off on the infected t-shirt. He turned round, to see the swordsman driving his sword into an infected corpse that Jason was sure was already dead. The swordsman looked up.

"Just making sure," He said. Jason understood.

"Better safe than bitten," Jason replied, as he offered a hand to the swordsman. "Sergeant Jason Rees, British Army."

"Johnny Hall," replied the swordsman, shaking Jason's hand with his sword free one. "Army? What are you doing out here?"

"Long story. Best told inside," replied Jason. He motioned to Tim's house and headed inside. Johnny was hesitant at first but followed after deciding that it was probably better to call it quits for today and to sleep in the same house as someone who could take care of himself. Jason led Johnny up and into Tim's bedroom. As he passed the desk, Johnny spotted the picture of Jason and another teenager.

"This your house?"

"No," replied Jason, "My friend Tim's. I needed a place to bunk overnight before continuing on with my mission."

"What mission?" asked Johnny, feeling it was about time for some answers.

"Get comfortable, this is going to take a while," replied Jason. Johnny put down his sword and sat on the bed as Jason began to explain.

"So it all began at the start of the outbreak...,"

...

"So you were exiled from the Chester Safe zone because you killed 3 kids who were acting like them?"

"Yup," replied Jason. "Ain't it a bitch?"

"So if you were exiled, how are you still a member of the army?" asked Johnny.

"The Safe zone council exiled me; they didn't dismiss me from duty, honestly they don't have the authority. Also, my CO gave me an assignment, to secure a forward operating base for them so they can come in and set it up, and then I'm to run it," explained Jason.

"How do you know they're actually coming?" asked Johnny. To him, the whole idea sounded a little too good to be true.

"I don't," replied Jason, surprising Johnny. "I don't know if it was an actual order or just something my boss said for me to do to keep me alive. All I know is that as long as I have an aim or an objective to fill, then I can keep on living. You're more than welcome to come with me if you want."

"What?" asked Johnny, surprised at the offer. "You hardly know me."

"I know enough," replied Jason. "If you've survived this long that means you're smart and can take care of yourself, to say nothing of your sword skills which I've seen and are impressive. You've also got a sense of honour. When I called that my pistol was out of ammo, you could have stabbed me in the back, finished off the rest of the infected, taken my kit and you'd be much better off, but you didn't. Even after the fight, you could have finished me off pretty easily."

"I'm not so sure...," started Johnny.

"I am," stated Jason. "A skilled man with a sword who knows how to use it, against a soldier armed only with a knife, no guns and no backup? Sounds like a one sided fight to me. Anyway, as I see it you have 2 choices;

"1. We can go our separate ways. I'll go to set up my base. You can either live on as you are or go to the Chester safe zone. It's not quite normal but it's better than running for your life out here. Or 2. You come with me, help me set up and run this base, and you won't have to constantly look out for yourself, you'll have food, weapons and a relatively safe place to sleep at night. The choice is yours."

"I'll think about it," replied Johnny after a moment's thought. Jason smiled.

"Ok, now I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"I saw you got bitten in the arm by an infected before I joined the fight. But you haven't been affected by it. Why is that?"

"Easy," replied Johnny smirking. He took off his black trench coat, to reveal a long sleeve shirt of chainmail underneath.

"Chainmail, clever," replied Jason. "But isn't it heavy? Surely it would hinder your mobility,"

"Meh," shrugged Johnny. "I never liked running anyway. This way I can just kill anything that comes at me and I'm safe against bites."

"Fair enough," replied Jason. He started fiddling with his watch. "I'm going to get some rack. I'm setting an alarm for 04:30. I wanna be fed and out of here by 05:30. If you're coming with, be ready to roll by then. The master bedroom is on the other side of the hall. I'll take in here if you don't mind."

"Sure," said Johnny. He stood up and headed for the door. "Goodnight."

"Night."

* * *

 **Tim's house  
Approx 3 ½ miles outside Chester Safe zone**

 **Z-day + 42  
04:30**

BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! BEEP... BEEEP!

Jason groggily switched off his watches' alarm. He swung his feet over the edge and laced up his boots. He then clicked on his pistol holster and reloaded his pistol, before checking over his L85. Once satisfied that his weapons were fully functional and ready for action, he set about cooking breakfast.

He turned on the gas under the ration pack as he'd been cooking last night that he never got around to finishing. He also pulled out 2 chocolate bars and started eating. As he was half way through the first Mars bar, there was a knock at the door, a moment later Johnny came in, fully tooled up and ready.

"Morning," he said, still partly yawning.

"Morning," replied Jason. "So does this mean you've decided to stick with me?"

"Haven't really got anything better to do," replied Johnny. "Plus you seem to know what you're doing. I could use someone like that watching my back."

"Good enough for me," replied Jason. He grabbed the second Mars bar and offered it to him. "Breakfast?"

"Cheers," replied Johnny. Jason dug out another ration pack and put it in the now boiling water in his mess tin. "So what's the plan?"

"We head for a small hotel out in Rowton," replied Jason, "That s where we're headed. Once there, I use the sat phone in my pack to call my CO and he sends the cavalry. I reckon it's a 2, maybe 3-hour hike to the hotel."

"And if it's overrun?"

"We call for back up and the cavalry comes early."

"And if they can't get through?"

"Then we sit tight till they do," Jason was getting slightly irate. Before Johnny could come up with another 'what if' he cut him off.

"Look. They will be there. If they don't show, then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now let's eat and let's roll."

...

 **½ hour later**

"So what kind of birds you into?" asked Jason out of the blue. Johnny looked over at him incredulously, Jason was just walking and scanning with his rifle as normal.

"What?" Johnny asked.

"Well if we're going to be working together, travelling together, fighting together and potentially dying together, I'd rather know more about the guy covering my arse," explained Jason. "So, girls. What do you fancy?"

"Umm...," thought Johnny, trying to work out both his preference and Jason's sanity levels. "I've always had a thing for glasses."

"Really?" asked Jason. "So the quiet glass type then? You should have met my friend Hanna. She'd have gone nuts for you."

"Really?"

"Well you're about 6'2, handsome and look like you just stepped out of a Game of Thrones. She'd be all over you before you could say 'you know nothing, Jon Snow.'"

"And what about you?" asked Johnny.

"I've got a girl," Replied Jason, "Name's Akio. You'll probably meet her later."

"She's a soldier?"

"Yeah."

"I thought soldiers weren't allowed to have relations with other soldiers?"

"We're not."

"Then why?"

Jason sighed, "Akio came on to me about 2 weeks ago. Initially, I pushed her away, a soldier under my command and all that. But then we lost one of our team, Fred. He was seeing our team's medic. She was devastated, she left the military and is now a nurse back at the safe zone. But Fred's death taught me, life is short, especially the life of a soldier."

"So you both just thought 'fuck it' and shagged?" summarized Johnny.

"We haven't shagged... yet," replied Jason. He was about to continue on when he stopped on the road. "Do you hear that?"

Johnny stopped and listened. They both could hear something. An engine? Defiantly a car engine, getting closer. Before Jason could say anything, a green SUV came around the corner. There was a man standing in the sunroof, with some kind of long firearm in hand. He pointed it at them.

"Cover!" ordered Jason. Johnny got out of the road and went behind a car at the side of the road. Jason dropped to a knee and flicked the safety of his L85, he took a quick breath before putting the rifles ELCAN x4 lightweight day sight on the man with the weapon. As the car closed, he started firing.

Ka-Pow...Ka-Pow! Ka-Pow!

The man with the weapon fell backwards on the car, his shotgun firing off into the air with a BOOM! The driver jinked the car towards Jason, attempting to hit him. Jason dove out of the road into a cover between 2 cars, the car missing him by inches. As the car's breaks screeched as it came to a halt, Jason unclipped the quick release on his patrol bag, freeing him from its weight. He took cover behind a car.

"YOU KILLED MY SON MOTHERFUCKER! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" screamed an angry male voice. The glass of the car's back window shattered above him, followed by the report of a shotgun. Jason looked over to where Johnny was in cover. He could see him, crouched behind a car with sword drawn. He looked over at Jason. Jason pointed at him and then motioned towards the man followed by tapping himself on the head and lifting his L85.

'You move down behind the cars. I'll cover you.'

Johnny appeared to understand and nodded back. He disappeared behind the car and started moving. Jason stood up behind his car and pointed his rifle at the man, who was standing by his car.

"British Army! Drop your...SHIT!" shouted Jason. He dropped back behind the car as another shotgun blast rang out.

"Ok, fuck this guy," muttered Jason. He came back to the car and was about to fire, but Johnny beat him to it. The swordsman leapt from cover at the gunman's 9 O'clock, thrusting his sword forward and stabbing it into his flank. The man screamed in pain, but it was short lived, as in one fluid motion, Johnny pulled his sword back out and spun around, slashing the man's neck open. He collapsed in a gurgling pile, bleeding out of the open wound. Down the road, Jason emerged from cover and advanced towards Johnny and his victim. He stopped beside him, his rifle pointing at the still gurgling soon-to-be corpse.

"Nice one," said He then fired his rifle once into the man's forehead. "Just to be sure. Let's clear the car."

"Right." They advanced on the car, taking a side each. The car itself was weighed down with supplies, and there was no one else in the vehicle. Jason looked in, to find it was packed with camping gear, food, medical supplies, clothes... some of them still in plastic wrapping.

"You know," said Jason. "It's still a good 6 or 7 miles to our objective. We'd get there faster in this thing." He pointed to the 2 dead men. "And they won't need it anymore."

"I can't drive," said Johnny, "can you?"

"ish...," said Jason slightly sheepishly. He reached up and pulled the dead corpse off the roof and dropped him unceremoniously on the floor. He squatted down and picked up the man's shotgun, checking it over.

"Define 'ish'," Pressed Johnny. Jason sighed.

"I've been driving for about a year and have failed my test twice."

"On?"

"One time I clipped the curb. The second time I... got into a street race during the test."

"What?" Johnny was almost laughing while Jason was fuming.

"It was one of my friends alright! And I'm very competitive. Catch," he closed up the now empty shotgun and tossed it over the car to Johnny, who caught it. "You know how to use one of those?"

"I grew up in the country. Of course, I do," He replied. He broke it open finding the chambers empty. "Shells?"

"Go through their pockets. These bozos will probably have some," replied Jason. He moved over to the corpse of the man who'd been shooting at him and started rifling through his pockets. Sure enough, he found about 8 shotgun shells and brought them over to Johnny.

"Alright. Let's get out of here," Jason removed his patrol bag and chucked it in the back before jumping in the driver's seat and Johnny the passenger seat. James adjusted the seat before turning over the engine.

"Right. Let's go," Jason released the clutch and gunned the engine... and promptly stalled it.

"Not. One. Word," was all Jason said to Johnny, who just sat silently in the passenger seat (doing he best not to laugh) as Jason restarted the car and drove off.

* * *

 **Target Hotel  
Approx 10 miles outside Chester Safe zone**

 **Z-day + 42  
5:20**

"Well, this is unfortunate," said Jason. "If expected."

They'd just arrived at the hotel and found the car park packed with infected, but fortunately, it appeared that the building itself was still secure.

"Right then," said Johnny, "Let's kick some zombie arse."

"Let's go," Jason gunned the engine and the car roared into the hotel car park, running into one as they skidded to a halt. The 2 jumped out of the car and started killing.

"So how are we going to secure this place?" asked Johnny as he impaled an infected with his sword. "That fence ain't gonna hold back a large group."

"I know," said Jason as he stabbed his bayonet into an infected's skull before clearing pulling it out and firing on another one. "We're gonna put wooden or metal pallets against the fence or something. Put snipers and lookouts up on the roof; maybe build a sanger or something and a more solid gate in."

"Sounds like a plan," called back Johnny as he finished dispatching another infected and moved onto the next one. Between the 2 of them, it didn't take long to clear out the car park in its entirety. They then closed the wooden gate and parked the car against it to reinforce it. Once they confirmed that the hotel was, as they expected, secure, they started moving supplies in from the car and storing it in the front lobby.

Jason glanced down at his watch, 5:45 am. Marsden would be up by now. He retrieved and dug into his patrol bag, pulling out the sat phone from it and turned it on. .

"Does that thing even still work?" asked Johnny. Jason nodded back.

"Regular mobile phones are dead," He said, "but we've had limited success with sat phones like this one. If we can get a signal, which we have, we can call base for support. Excuse me a mo."

Jason opened up the contacts list and pressed the call button on the contact for the ops room at Chester. The phone rung for a moment before someone picked it up.

 _"Chester Safezone Ops room. Please identify and authenticate Alpha. Over."_

"This is Recon team Juliet Romeo. I authenticate Alpha; Six-One-Zero-Alpha-Tango-Charlie. Patch me through to Major Mike. Over," said Jason.

 _"Roger Juliet Romeo. Wait out."_

A few moments later, Jason smiled as Marsden came on the phone, "Sergeant. How are you doing?"

"All good here sir. The objective is secure, for now. We made a hell of a lot of noise while clearing out the car park. If you could get a speed on the reinforcements and the builders, it would be greatly appreciated,"

 _"What do you mean by 'we' sergeant?"_

"I encountered by a civilian swordsman on my way here. He's agreed to help for now and I see him staying at the base as a civvie volunteer, and I'd be welcome for the help sir."

 _"Come again Sergeant. Did you say, Swordsman?"_

Jason smirked, "That I did sir. Crazy SOB fights infected with a hand and half sword."

 _"Can't wait to meet him. I'll have the convoy underway within a few hours. Can you hold your position till then?"_

 _"I think so sir. It's just a question of how many come and how much ammo."_

"Very well. I'll have the Special Ops detachment on standby as a QRF. Call if you need them. Anything else Sergeant?"

"One last thing sir. On the way here, we were engaged by a pair of x-rays. We defeated them with no injuries and commandeered their car full of supplies. I'll write up a contact report when I next can,"

 _"Very good Sergeant. Carry on,"_

"Sir," said Jason. He hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

"Looks like we're going to have to dig in and hold out for a few more hours."

* * *

 **Please Review, favourite/ follow!**

 **Dear readers, I hope you enjoyed that last chapter.  
**

 **One of my readers contacted me recently about being confused about the specifics of some of the weapons used, particularly the L85A2 and other members of the SA80 family of weapons (L98A2 and L86 LSW), so let me clarify for all the gun nuts amongst you.**

 _ **MOST**_ **of the L85's are late Afghanistan spec, i.e fitted out as the British army had them towards the end of the war in Afghanistan. They are fitted with ELCAN X4 day sights (some with micro red dots on top), railed handguards, vertical grip/pods and magpul Emags. There are pics on the internet if you want to see what it looks like.**

 **Other than that, there will be some older spec weapons coming but most of the rest is pretty self-explanatory but I will give some specifics if I want to/ is necessary to the plot.**

 **Next chapter will be out I don't know when.**

 **From  
**

 **Jango**


	13. Chapter 13

**Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown CBE, DSC, AFC, RN (21 January 1919 – 21 February 2016)**

 **"It is a huge thrill. You're up there on your own, and you really feel like this is life. I'm the king of the castle up here. That's really what it's like."**

* * *

 **Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak**

 **Chapter 13: This is my rifle**

 **Target Hotel  
Approx 10 miles outside Chester Safezone**

 **Z-day + 42  
08:40**

 _Ka-pow!_

"This is my rifle, there are many like it, but this one is mine."

 _Ka-pow!_

"My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my..."

 _Ka-pow!_

"As I must master my life."

"You watched way too many war films as a kid. Didn't you?"

"Actually…" began Jason, but then he thought about it for a moment. "No, I did watch too many war films as a kid. But I do it because it was drilled into me during my time in the states."

"You've been to the states?" queried Johnny, who was lying down on the roof relaxing while Jason sat cross-legged next to him, picking off infected with his L85.

"Aye, I spent 2 months out there," replied Jason. "1 month travelling. 1 month spent with Blackwater PMC on various shooting courses they run."

"So you spent half your time, in one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, learning to shoot?"

"No. I could already shoot. I just wanted to get better at it," Jason shrugged. "... and shoot some American guns."

"I see... Yeah, I can peg you as a gun nut," replied Johnny. He then sighed. "So what did you shoot?" Jason smiled, there were few things he liked talking about more than guns he'd shot.

"My first week was on a basic gun safety course. I used a Springfield Armoury tactical response pistol as my handgun/ sidearm throughout the month. My initial rifle was a Colt AR-15 sporter carbine; I also trained with a Remington 870 shotgun at that point. My second week was spent on Blackwater's sniper course. For that, I switched up my colt for a few different rifles. Initially, I used an HK MR308, before switching to a MacMillan Tac-300. I actually came second on the sniper course after a Japanese kid named Kohta Hirano. The final bit of the course was urban and mountain warfare. For that, I used an FN FAL with a SUSAT sight and a SCAR PDW for close quarters. Those were my main ones, but I had a go with loads of other guns. Man that M82 kicked like a…"

"You love guns way too much," said Johnny, cutting him off. "You know that right?"

"Oh yeah," replied Jason. "Ah. They're here."

Johnny sat up and looked over the roof ledge. He could hear the sounds of multiple engines, but it wasn't until the convoy pulled up at the gate that he saw the convoy in total. Jason counted off the convoy's component vehicles.

"2 Snatch land rovers, both pulling trailers. A box lorry. 2 Army 6 tonne lorries, a tanker towing a trailer tank and... An armoured bus?"

"A what?"

"No clue mate. Let's get down there and let them in." The 2 started down from the roof and within minutes, Jason was moving the car and Johnny was opening the gate. The convoy passed through the gate and the vehicle moved into the car park. Almost immediately, soldiers started demounting from the snatches and army Lorries and started moving to the perimeter to watch for threats. After Jason and Johnny closed the gate and backed up the car again, they approached towards one of the Snatches, where Marsden was standing in full body armour, with an L85 close to hand.

"Sir," said Jason as stopped short of him, with Johnny not far behind.

"Sergeant," greeted Marsden. "Glad to see you made it." He looked at Johnny and offered him a hand. "Major Marsden, CO of the first Chester militia company. I'm guessing you're the swordsman I was told about?"

"That I am sir, Johnny Hall," said Johnny, shaking Marsden's hand.

"Glad to see the cavalry came over the hill," said Jason. "Is this everything we need to turn this into a functioning base?"

"Pretty much," replied Marsden, "With the exception of the 2 trucks, you're getting all these vehicles. We've got all the stuff we need to fortify and supply this place for now. We'll bring in more permanent provisions and supplies in the days to come."

"Very good sir," said Jason. "I noticed one of the snatches towing a field kitchen trailer. I reckon we should set up a mess tent, there isn't much room inside for a full kitchen."

"Sounds good. Let the builders know. We've also got a mobile medical facility, a fuel and water tanker, supplies, new kit, some soldiers to run the base for now and some civvie volunteers."

"Mobile Medical facility, sir?"

Marsden pointed to the armoured bus and explained.

"Basically, we took a regular old bus, stripped it out, replaced all the innards with what we could scavenge from 2 buggered ambulances. It's armoured against infected and small arms and manned by 2 volunteers from the hospital medical staff. I believe you know one of them."

Jason was confused and looked towards the bus. The door opened and Alex stepped out, dressed in a lab coat over her civvies. She'd grown her hair out and it was now held up in a high ponytail.

"Alex!" Jason rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug.

"Good to see you too boss," she said hugging Jason back. "Though I'm not sure what Akio would say if she saw you hugging me before her?"

"I do," said a voice. Jason looked up to see Akio standing in the bus's door, with a big smirk on her face. Jason released Alex and tried to act like there was nothing between himself and Akio, seeing as there were officers present. Marsden and Johnny came over to join the group.

"Sergeant," said Marsden. "We've brought a load out for you, I'm afraid we had to reissue your old gear to convince the council we'd actually dismissed you. But we have some new kit for you. Perhaps Corporal Long could give you a hand moving your gear to your bunk room, which I'm sure the Sergeant has already set aside."

"I'd love to boss," said Akio. She got off the bus and grabbed Jason by the wrist and dragged him off towards one of the trucks where the kit was being unloaded.

"Carry on," said Marsden to Johnny and Alex.

"So you're the medic Jason was talking about then?" asked Johnny.

"I am," replied Alex. "You that swordsman he picked up?"

"I am," replied Johnny. "That his girlfriend?"

"She is."

"I see."

"hmm... How long before he jumps her?"

Alex laughed, "It'll be her jumping him. And I reckon as soon as the door is locked."

...

"A 90 litre Bergen packed to overflowing. An overweight fully kitted black deployment bag. Plus weapons cases and bags," surmised Jason as he listed off the kit he'd been given. "Remind me why I need so much kit?"

"Things of changed," replied Akio, "Besides, if we're going to be living here, I thought our room should, at least, be slightly more than a normal hotel room." Jason was confused for a moment, before realizing what she was saying.

"We? Living here? Akio you weren't exiled! You don't need to live here…"

"Do you really think this is an argument you can win?" Akio shot back with a mischievous smile. "Where you go, I go. Now, which is your room?"

"First on the left," Jason relented. Akio smiled with the smile that Jason knew she only wore when she had won an argument, which was annoyingly often. They stopped at the door and Jason managed to wriggle the key out of his pocket while not dropping any of the heavy bags of gear he was carrying. She took the key and opened the door, holding it open so Jason could get in with all his kit. He didn't notice her locking the door as he set the bags down.

"Right then. Shall we…" Jason had barely spun around when Akio dove on him, pinning him down to the bed.

"Someone might come in," said Jason, wanting it as much as she did.

"I locked the door, they won't," replied Akio, right before she kissed him. It wasn't just a peck on the cheek; it was wild, unrestricted total pleasure.

"I want you," she murmured. She took control of his mouth and kissed him even deeper. As their kiss deepened, first hands began to explore, then buttons came unbuttoned before clothes started coming off.

"Akio, I don't have any…" Akio put a finger to his mouth and pulled something from her pocket. She held up the metal packet so he could see.

"It helps when you have a friend who has access to medical stores," she grinned, before jumping him again.

...

Jason looked down at the vast array of kit laid out on the bed in front of him. Aside from his rifle and pistol, he'd received Osprey body armour, webbing, pouches, helmet, camping and survival gear and several changes of MTP combats. He changed from his civvies and donned his combats, feeling oddly more comfortable in combats than civvies. He shrugged it off as he put on his new airborne webbing set, stuffing loaded magazines into its pouches.

As he did he looked at his new helmet and body armour. The helmet was a pre-fall army standard issue MK 7 helmet and the body armour was a Osprey MK 4 vest with full front and back Kevlar plates. Strapped to its MOLLE covered front was a row of 4 Velcro single mag pouches with a double mag pouch at either end (allowing him to be comfortable while prone) and a row of 3 pistol mag pouches. As well as the mag pouches and 2 utility pouches and a first aid pouch, there was an admin pouch a full cover union jack, his blood type and a moral patch with 'KEEP CALM AND DRINK TEA' Velcro'd to the front of it.

Jason had made his views on wearing body armour while fighting infected clear on numerous occasions; 'Don't bother. Weighs you down and infected don't use guns.' Marsden knew it, so if they were issuing him full body armour, that meant that there was a serious threat in the area with access to firearms... oh joy.

Jason finished kitting up and left his room, going back into the car park, which was best described as organised chaos.

"Ah, Sergeant Rees, good to see you back in combats," said Marsden. "The builders want to discuss with you about fortifications."

"Yes, sir," said Jason. "Sir, why have we been issued full body armour? I'm guessing that there's an increased threat other than the infected?" Marsden sighed.

"You are correct Sergeant. There is another cell of thugs from the group from the Broughton safe zone still outstanding. Last night a sniper fired on a section on wall duty. 3 soldiers dead, 2 chest, one headshot. Until we apprehend him, orders are full Osprey and helmets, no exceptions... including you, Sergeant."

"Yes, sir," replied Jason. "We going sniper hunting?"

"You're not. You've got cadets to train," said Marsden.

"Come again sir?" queried Jason, slightly confused. Marsden explained.

"In 4 days time, you're going to be receiving 24 new recruits. They've just finished their basic training with Sergeant Owens at Chester, so were sending them to you to get their 'deployment' or on the job' training. As one of our best, we're entrusting you with this crucial task. Aside from the 2 medical staff, you'll get a builder, mechanic, cook and logistics officer who can double as your armourer. As to their training, I'll leave that to your digression. We'll talk more in depth later, for now, go get your body armour and go see what the builders want."

"Yes, sir," replied Jason. He double-timed it back to his room to retrieve his body armour, unsure of how the hell he was going to go about teaching.

* * *

 **Patrol base Cornwell  
Z-day +46  
08:40**

Jason and Akio waited patiently in the car park for the new trainees to arrive. They were due to arrive soon, but Jason had something else on his mind.

"You're going to wear me out at this rate," he said to Akio.

"You weren't complaining at the time," replied Akio smugly.

"And I call you enjoying yourself as well," Jason whispered back. "But we can't do it while our trainees are here."

"Or," whispered Akio, "we just don't get caught." Jason laughed and started whispering.

"I still can't believe you let me…"

"So you two have stopped shagging then?" called a voice that was, to Jason and Akio at least, all too loud.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" said Jason.

"Yeah, these walls aren't as soundproof as you think Jason," said Alex. The girls laughed as Jason blushed heavily.

"Is the medical bus set up and good?" asked Jason, swiftly changing the subject.

"Yeah, it was ready yesterday," replied Alex, still smirking knowingly at Jason. "Thanks for the combat shotgun by the way."

"Yeah, well if they get in you're going to need it."

Thanks to the builders and the soldiers, the base was secure and everything was ready. The walls had been reinforced with wooden and metal pallets, with Sanger watch tower at the corners of the perimeter. It was set up so the perimeter could be manned by a minimum of 4 soldiers, but Jason had devised a rota so that at least one of the 8 man sections that he was getting would be on stag at any one time.

The other base facilities were also fully set up. The kitchen trailer had been deployed in the back of the mess tent, which also had table and chairs to sit and eat at. The Snatches and the box truck were parked in a line with a tent set up for the mechanic to work under while it was raining (something that comes the autumn, it would do near constantly). The fuel truck had been parked in the farthest corner of the base and behind the strongest part of the wall, the theory being that if it were to be attacked and explode, it should be as far away as possible from everything else. The builders had also built a shower block that could either use filtered rain water or pumped water from the trailer and also set up some latrine cubicles (shit burning duties would be assigned as a rota and as punishments.)

They had enough supplies to last them for a while, but Marsden had told Jason that the base was to hang on to whatever supplies they needed from what they procured and the rest would be sent back to Chester. Jason preferred a practical approach to training and had plans for his new troops. A short while later, 2 army Lorries drove through the front gate and into the car park.

"If you 2 are done discussing Akio and my sex life, our fresh meat is here," said Jason, watching the new recruits de-bus and soft kit. He made a few internal observations;

" _Boots, recently polished. Uniforms recently pressed. Rifles... un-fucking-loaded. Sweet Jesus this is going to be harder than I thought."_

The 24 'soldiers' de-bussed and fell into their sections, each forming 2 rank of 4 with an NCO on the end of each rank. Jason and Akio each scanned the sections, they were mainly teenage boys and girls bar a few elders, all of whom stood silently until the Corporal from number 1 section stepped forward.

"Sergeant Rees," he said. "1st Chester Militia Company Banshee Platoon reporting as ordered."

' _Banshee platoon?'_ thought Jason, _'Who the fuck came up with that?"_

"Right," said Jason, addressing the platoon. "Go into the briefing room, drop your kit and grab a seat in your sections. We'll go through some housekeeping and then we'll get to it. Off you go."

The new soldiers fell out and hustled their way inside with all their kit. Alex split off to round up the support staff who would help run the base and train the soldiers. While she did that, Jason went to his room and retrieved a permanent marker pen, a pair of scissors and a roll of green tape.

Within a few minutes, Jason entered the briefing room with Akio, Alex and the other civilian volunteers. The new arrivals were chatting among themselves until one of them noticed their incoming instructors.

"Sit up!"

They stood up at attention, only for Jason to wave them down.

"At ease," he said and they returned to their seats.

"Alright then. Welcome to Patrol base Cornwell. I am Sergeant Rees, you're new combat instructor and NCO-IC of this base. This is Corporal Long, my second in command. As of right now, you are deployed, not on parade at Chester. As such, I do not expect you to polish your boots, or iron your uniform every night. I do, however; expect you to keep yourselves and your weapons clean, your bunks relatively tidy, and yourselves ready for action at a moment's notice, shit rarely hits the fan at an hour of our choosing." There were a few chuckles from the crowd. Jason continued.

"Alright then. I'll try to keep this short. A few ground rules; 1. The civvie volunteers here are here to help you. They could be back in Chester safe and sound sipping wine but they're risking their necks to be here. Treat them with respect. 2. What I or the Corporal say goes. We say jump, you ask how high. 3. Knives and sidearms are to be carried at all times. 4. You are ours, but we are yours. We're here to train you, you're here to learn. If you have a question, ask. An unasked question is an unanswered question. There are 3 sections of 8 here. At least one section will be here at any one time. You will stand guard on the perimeter in 8-hour shifts. We will organize training sessions and operations in the remaining time. I will produce a duty roster that _will_ be adhered to. The troops on stag at the moment are out of here in…" Jason checked his watch.

"15 minutes. I want one section on duty in 10, get settled then relieve them. Everyone else, get your kit stowed away, have a look around the base. First training session starts at 10:00. Once they've got their kit stowed away I want to see all the section commanders and 2ic's. Oh, one more thing..." he tossed the scissors, tape and marker pen to the soldier in the first row.

"Write your surname and blood type on some tape and put it on your uniform's left chest pocket, same again on your trousers right back pocket. Dismissed."

...

In the base's operations room, Jason and Akio sized up the 6 NCO's before them; Corporals Maester, Note and Johnson, and Lance Corporals Dawn, Duster and Sully.

Corporal Maester and Lance Corporal Dawn were 1 section's NCO's. Maester was a teenager about Jason's age if slightly older, he was built like a rugby player and sported a ginger buzz cut and slight stubble. Dawn was substantially shorter and sported Jet black and had a slightly underhand look about him.

Note and Duster were from 2 Section. Note had short blond hair and an athletic build, he looked like he'd been punched at some point in the relatively near past as he still had the remnants of some swelling on his face. Duster almost looked like she could be Note's twin sister, with the same rough build, blue eyes and a similar head of blond hair tied up in a ponytail.

Lastly were Johnson and Sully, 3 section's NCO's. Of the 6, these were the 2 Jason and Akio were least impressed with. They'd shown up last to the briefing, a full 5 minutes after everyone else. Upon being asked, they'd tried to explain that they'd been packing their kit away, and Akio had given them a slight dressing down as they wanted to get this meeting started quickly.

"Right then," said Jason, "This is the ops room. As the name suggests this is where we will plan ops. We also have medium range radio sets for communications in the field and with Chester. Now then, with regards to training, I believe in a practical approach. I want each section to fully plan a supply operation. It can be for anything we need; Food, water, guns, ammo, medicine, clothes... anything. I want you to: think of a place we can get it from, plan a route there and back on the maps, Plan what you'll need in the way of kit; food, ammo weapons etc, work out what extra personnel and vehicles you'll need, and consider the risk of running into survivors. Sound good?"

"Yes, Sergeant," they replied.

"Good. Any questions, problems or queries, come find either of us and we'll do our best to answer them. I want your plans by 18:00 tomorrow at the latest. Dismissed."

* * *

 **Patrol base Cornwell  
Rooftop**

 **Z-day +46**  
 **19:00**

Akio finally shut the door to her bunkroom and relaxed. She had just finished training some of 2 section in the art of practical hand to hand combat with infected. While she had taken it in her stride, some of the section had struggled. After giving pointers and correction forms for the last few hours, coupled with what had been an exhausting day, she finally decided that she needed to relax for herself. She removed her Osprey Body armour and started peeling off layers of webbing and protection, enjoying that feeling of when a sweat-soaked area is allowed to breathe for the first time in hours.

Before she headed for the roof, she replaced the knife she had in her ankle sheath with a practice one that she'd picked up. Then with the sun going down, she headed up, eager practice some of her own high-level katas. Finding the rooftop deserted, she quickly stretched off, before bowing and stepping into her ready stance. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind, she pictured the roof, with 3 infected coming for her.

The first one lumbered forward toward her at an impressive pace (for a zombie) with arms outstretched. Her hand reached down for her knife. Once the first was close enough, she pulled the dagger free and plunged it into its chest, pulling it skyward. The blade continued upward, cutting through its neck and face until it sliced through the top of its skull. It fell to the ground and was still.

The second one rushed Akio with hands swaying clumsily about. Akio simply dropped her stance and delivered a quick and boot armoured front kick to the infected's head, which exploded in a cloud of decomposing skin, bone and brain matter. She, too, fell and was no more.

The final infected was unusually tall, and although long dead, it still possessed a great deal of strength. Akio hadn't yet recovered from her front kick when the infected got far too close for comfort. Rather than bring her leg back in and fall into another fighting stance like she normally would, she dove forward and rolled, recovering some distance and spun around to face her opponent. Before it could react and attack again, Akio reversed her dagger in her hand and threw it at the infected's head.

"Nice moves," said a voice. Instantly the infected vanished like a day dream. Akio looked over to find Johnny, still fully tooled up with trench coat and sword. He held Akio's practice knife in his hand.

"Of course, throwing your only knife at an opponent is a very stupid and amateurish move."

"I'm sorry?" glared Akio. It was a brave man who dared questioned her fighting abilities.

"Well," said Johnny, speaking as if he were a professor lecturing a student. "You throw a knife at Zack and kill it, well done, good kill, retrieve your knife. You miss, you're fucked."

"Zack?" questioned Akio. "Zack? You call them Zack?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Brits called Germans in World War 2 Jerry, and the Taliban Terry in Afghanistan. Americans in Vietnam called the NVA Charlie. Why can't we call _them_ Zack?"

"Because it humanizes them," snarled Akio. She waved around her, motioning to the base. " _This_ might be just a joke to you, but to us, it's deadly serious. See those recruits? It's our job to turn them not just into soldiers, but killers. One day they could be asked to shoot their own mother, sister, brother or whatever in the face and they need to do it without hesitation. Calling them _Zack_ humanizes them. That could cause them to hesitate. They hesitate, they get bit, they die. Or worse, their mate next to them is bitten, they die, then the poor sod breaks and goes on hating themselves for the rest of their lives. If you can't get that, maybe it'd be better if you left."

She picked up her knife and left Johnny alone on the roof.

"See you at morning briefing," she said as she passed.

* * *

 **2 miles outside Patrol Base Cornwell**

 **Z-day +47  
10:00**

"Remind me again why we have to patrol in the rain?" asked Private Case. Akio, Jason and almost all of 2 section sighed in unison. They'd been out on patrol for nearly 2 hours, and in the last 1/2 hour, the weather closed in. And while Private Case was a good teenage soldier and a well-meaning person, he could get annoying. Fast.

"Because Private..." began Akio, but she was cut off by Private Aber.

"Because Ryan the noise from the rain would drown out the sound any incoming infected herds. We need to foot patrol to get an assessment of the on the ground situation. Also, it's good practice for field work."

"Huh, spot on Private. Nice one," said Jason. He was still getting to know his new charges, but he'd already pegged Private Aber as one of the better of the bunch, not to mention one of the more attractive. She tall for her age with a slim yet athletic build. She had large, bright green eyes and long fiery red hair which came down to her shoulders, but was currently tied in a braid under her helmet. She was the squad's marksman and carried an L129A1 marksman rifle.

Akio slowed her pace and surrendered her role as point to 2 section's dedicated point man as she linked up with Jason who was hanging back to watch the section's rear.

"She's got potential," said Akio. "Why isn't she an NCO?"

"I know, she reminds me of you actually," replied Jason. "And she's not an NCO because she beat the crap out of Lieutenant State's son and landed him in the hospital."

"Isn't he the jackass who hangs around Mickie's picking up women?"

"That's the one. Anyway, it says in the report that he tried to pick her up and got a bit touchy-feely..."

"Let me guess, she kicked the shit out of him?"

"Nope. Private Case stepped in, the douchebag threatened Case, _then_ she kicked the shit out of him."

"Ahh... so there's something between Case and Aber?"

"Lifelong friends apparently,"

"You know we can hear you talking right?" Aber called back. "And the little shit deserved it. No one threatens Ryan but me!" Akio and Jason looked at each other for a moment before chuckling.

"Guess we've been told..."

"CONTACT LEFT!"

The whole section panned their weapons left, safety's clicked off and made ready to fire... at nothing. There were no visibly infected, or anything that constituted a threat, nothing but hedge.

"Ok. Who called contact?" called Jason after a good few seconds of silence.

"I did Sergeant," said called the point man. Jason broke formation and walked up to him, his name tag read Private Popplewell.

"Alright Popplewell," asked Jason. "Why did you call contact?"

"I thought..." started Popplewell, he was young and nervous. He pushed the brim of his glasses further up his nose. "I thought I saw movement through the hedge, and I heard something. So I called contact."

"Infected?" asked Jason. Popplewell shook his head, shifting his combat shotgun in his arms.

"Don't think so Sarge," he said. "It sounded more like a growl."

"Poppy's hearing things," said Lance Corporal Duster. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"I know what I saw," replied Popplewell.

"First-time nerves getting to you Poppy?" sneered someone from the section.

"I know what I saw!" Popplewell snapped back.

"Alright lock it down," ordered Jason. He turned to Popplewell. "Keep your eyes and ears open. If you think you see or hear anything, call it. Got it?"

"Yes Sergeant," he replied, slightly ashamed at having cocked up. Jason gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and the patrol moved on.

 **...**

 **5 minutes later**

"CONTACT LEFT!" shouted Popplewell.

Again the entire section trained to target and raised their weapons, only for there to be nothing there again.

"For god sake Poppy!" shouted Duster. "Stop calling out contact when there's nothing there!"

"Lance!" shouted Jason. "Quiet! Private, explanation! Now!"

"I heard it again Sarge," replied Popplewell. He sounded more confident of himself this time. "It sounded like a low growl. Almost like an animal."

"An animal?!" chastised Duster. "An animal?! Private! You've got us all stopping and on edge because you thought you heard an anima..."

Duster did not finish her sentence, instead, she screamed as something large and furry dove on her from a tree above. It was large, fast, and had predatory eyes. It crushed her throat in its jaw as it roared, silencing Duster's scream. As it landed, its identity was clear, its orange and black stripes betraying it.

"TIGER!" someone shouted. Jason acted.

"Open..."

 _BOOM! BOOM!_

The tiger roared a moment before its flank exploded, tearing apart vital internal organs and it collapsed. Popplewell stepped forward, he racked the slide on his combat shotgun, ejecting a perfectly good buckshot round, before firing once more into the tiger's head. It exploded in gore. Everyone stood speechless and in shock from the sudden ambush that the cat had launched, but also at how Popplewell had handled it. They all looked at him.

"How..." began Aber, Popplewell explained as he withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket at whipped brain matter and blood from his glasses.

"Alternate shells," he said. "I've got Buckshot and solid shot loaded alternately. I read that the SAS did the same trick in Malaysia and Borneo to fight off jungle predators."

"Fuckin' ell lad," someone muttered. "where'd this thing even come from?"

"Probably the zoo," said Jason. "Some keeper may have let it out in the shit storm or maybe it escaped somehow. Either way, good work Popplewell."

"Too bad about Duster, though," said Akio. There was little doubt that she was dead, but they came together and rolled the tiger corpse off her just to be sure. No question, she was dead.

"Alright, guys," said Jason. "We've got a man down. So let's get this done and head home, ok?"

"Sure."

"Sounds good."

"Can we bring the tiger back?" asked someone. They all turned toward the voice, it was Aber. They all thought she was mad until she explained herself.

"Tiger skin rug for the lounge?"

* * *

 **Patrol base Cornwell  
Ops room**

 **Z-day +47**  
 **18:00**

They beginning his meeting with all the NCO's from all 3 sections as well as some of the civvie volunteers on base. When they'd first arrived, Jason had asked each of them to come up with an executable scavenger op each section could complete only with what they had on base. Now he was going to hear what they'd come up with.

"Right then, first things first, congratulations to Lance Corporal Aber on her promotion. I wish it could be under better circumstances," Said Jason. There was a brief applause to the new NCO. They continued.

"Right then. 1 section, what have we got?"

"Deer stalking op," replied Maester. "There's a few groups of deer on the Duke's old estate at Eton Hall. If we could bag a few that would feed us for a while and elevate the meat crisis back at Chester."

"Good one," said Jason, "2 Section, What'ya got?"

"Arms and ammo," replied Note. "Private 'tiger slayer' Popplewell said that his father used to work at a TA base in Elsmere port. I checked the list and we haven't hit it yet. Apparently it was a Signal Regiment Barracks, could yield some communications kit as well as arms, ammo, uniform etcetera."

"Pretty far, but not impossible. Good work," said Jason. He then looked over to 3 section. Of the NCO's, he was least impressed with 3 section's. He expected a lazy, easy operation that would produce little reward for the investment of man and material.

"3 section?"

"Warehouse complex outside Queensferry," said Corporal Johnson. "I used to work at it and about a week before this all went down, we received a shipment medical supplies bound for the Countess of Chester Hospital."

Jason actually surprised, that was actually a very juicy target and something Chester needed quite badly.

"Good idea, one problem," said Jason. "Queensferry is a long ass drive or March through infected country. There is no way that we could drive there and bring back enough medical supplies to justify the use of fuel."

"Who said anything about driving or marching?" replied Johnson. Jason cocked an eyebrow as Johnson retrieved a map from the shelf and unrolled it on the table. He pointed to a point on the map.

"Here's the warehouse complex," he said. "As you can see, it fronts right onto the river Dee. We can take a boat from Chester, sail up the Dee, load up what we need and sail back. There're enough supplies there that we won't do it in one hit. We can do it again and again."

Jason considered for a moment.

"Corporal... I take it back. That is a cracking good plan. OK, I want you guys to work on the finer details of the plans. Work together and ask around if anyone knows anything that might help. Akio and I will be happy to help. Good work guys. Dismissed."

* * *

 **Hi guys!**

 **I need your help!**

 **I've got a poll on for the next chapter/ chapter arc. It's going to be primarily around the 3 training ops, and I cannot decide if I want to write it as 3 shorter than standard chapters (around 3000-4000 words) Or as one massive chapter. Personally, I'm leaning more towards the first option but I'd like your feedback guys.**

 **It's also worth saying that I have a plan to finish this story. It will have a maximum of 4 more arcs and probably around 6 or so chapters depending. I am considering a sequel.**

 **During the writing of this story, a man of great significance passed away. Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown was a royal navy test/ fighter pilot during world war 2 and after, who currently holds 3 world records, including most Aircraft carrier landings(2,407), and for flying more different types of aircraft than anyone else (487, not counting variants of individual aircraft types.) It is unlikely that these records will ever be broken.**

 **RIP**

 **As ever, please Review/ favourite/ follow. PM me if you have any problems/ suggestions/ questions etc.**

 **Jango**


	14. Chapter 14

**Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak**

 **Chapter 14: Hell hath no Fury**

 **Patrol base Cornwell  
Lounge/ briefing room.**

 **Z-day +50**  
 **07:00**

"Morning 1 section," said Jason as he walked into the lounge. The section stood up from their sofa and other sitting perches.

"Morning Sergeant," they said in unison.

"Alright, relax," said Jason. "Today we'll be doing a spot of deer stalking down on the Duke's estate. So that'll be fun. Over to Corporal Maester for the plan. Corporal."

"Thank you, Sergeant," said Maester. Maester produced a large map of the area and stuck it with blue tac to the front of the now useless TV. Maester commenced his briefing.

"Alright then. As the Sergeant said, we're going deer hunting on the duke's estate. We'll drive there in the Land Rover's and take the lorry as well. We'll go through the Eccleston gate and move on the Hall's attached compound. Once there we'll split off. Fireteam Alpha will go deer stalking, you'll be equipped with 2 marksman or sniper rifles, the other 2 will be spotters and security detail. Fireteam Bravo will be on vehicle protection detail. Standard survivor protocol is in play, and the only secondary objective we have is the on-site Armoury. The Duke was a member of the royal family and thus had his own private security, supposedly ex- special forces types packing G36's. If we have time we'll find and raid what's left in their armoury.

"The time is currently 07:04. I want everyone formed up, kitted, booted and suited for 08:00. Mount up at 5 past, hit the estate by half past if everything goes as planned then we bag a couple of buck and back here for mid-afternoon. Anything to add Sergeant?"

"Just one thing," said Jason. "For this op, we've got our medic Alex Vera joining us as well as a civvie volunteer from Chester. He used to be a professional deer stalker and games keeper for an estate up in Scotland so he known's his stuff. Listen to him Alpha, he'll be with you and tell which deer you can shoot. Good meeting everyone."

The section dispersed, heading off to get their kit or heading for breakfast (mostly the latter.) Jason headed back to his bunk room. When he entered the room, he was greeted by a beautiful sight.

Akio had been on the late night watch shift with 2 section. She'd come in about 4 in the morning when 3 section had relieved them. Currently, she was currently sprawled out on the double bed, wearing nothing but the bed quilt. Despite the soldier in his head screaming at him to get ready for the mission, Jason let the teenager overrule it.

He lay down next to her watching her as she sleep peacefully. After a moment, he leaned over and started kissing her lightly on her neck and cheek.

She murmured as she came to, "More."

She took control of his mouth and started kissing deeper. She repositioned herself so she was on top of him, pinning him down with her body and kisses.

"We haven't got long," said Jason. When they parted for air. "We roll in an hour."

"We'll make this quick then," Said Akio as she started undoing Jason's belt buckle.

"And if anyone hears us?" asked Jason as he pulled his UBAC off. Akio smirked and passed an evil giggle as she set about his boot laces.

"I could use a new sparring partner."

* * *

 **Mess tent**

 **20 minutes later.**

"So what's between the Sergeant and Corporal Long then?" asked Case.

"Obviously their shagging," said Aber through a mouthful of baked beans.

"Really?" said Case with some surprise

"Yeah," replied Aber slightly patronisingly. "She's a hottie. He's a hottie. They sleep in the same room and have you seen the way they look at each other? Their obviously fucking. That and you can hear them going at it. The corporal has quite the voice."

"Wow," said Case, he was genuinely surprised. "I didn't realise."

"It's a good thing you're cute," she said, smiling at her childhood friend. "And you've got it where it counts." Aber and Case chuckled but then looked up at a large middle aged with a large ginger beard who was standing over their table.

"Forgie me'," said the man in a heavy Scottish accent. "but I'm looking' fur Jason Rees."

"The Sergeant?" said Aber, "He'll be out soon. Are you the civilian specialist 1 section is taking deer stalking today?"

"Aye. That be me," said the man. "Tha' name's Kincaid."

"Lance Corporal Aber. Private Case," introduced Aber.

"A pleasure ta meet ye'," said Kincaid. "So where is ta' Sargeant?" Case answered.

"He's with Corporal Akio and they're..."

"We were getting ready for the op Private. Corporal Akio also mentioned that she is looking for a new sparring partner. Finish that sentence and I'll recommend you to her," said Jason as he walked up to the trio. He offered a hand to Kincaid. "Mr. Kincaid, it's good to see you again."

"You too laddie," replied Kincaid.

"You'll be working with 1 section today with Lance Corporal Dawn and Private's Dice and Moon and Vickers."

"Are ya nee joining us?" asked Kincaid.

"Partly. I'll be floating between fireteams alpha and bravo," said Jason, "Anyway, I need to get some kit see you in a bit."

...

 **08:30**

"Alright mount up!" called Jason.

One section had just finished their final kit check and final briefings. The section fell out and headed for their designated vehicles. Fireteam Alpha went for Snatch 1 with Kincaid while with fireteam Bravo mounted up in Snatch 2. Jason and Alex elected to drive the box lorry. Each of the vehicles had been armoured with wire mesh across the glass window's and for added security, Snatch 1 would drive in front of the lorry and snatch 2 behind them, each with a gunner riding top cover in the open roof hatch.

Jason climbed aboard his lorry, chucking his patrol pack on the centre seat and placing his L85 next to it. Alex boarded and took up the passenger seat. Seeing as she was a civilian volunteer and not a soldier, she was not in uniform but instead wore a pair of dark green cargo trousers and a blue hiking shirt as well as a pair of boots and an Osprey vest. Jason also handed her a Sig226 in a holster for her to carry during the op, just in case. He then grabbed the mic for the radio the mechanic had installed.

"All call signs this is Juliet Romeo. Green light for Operation Bambi stew. Let's roll. Out," he said. He hung it back up on its clips. Alex groaned.

"Could you have called it something other than 'Bambi stew?'" she asked.

"No," replied Jason obviously with humour, "it's what I'm hoping will come out of all this. A nice venison stew."

The Snatches' started up and the convoy headed out. The convoy kept their speed up so that infected couldn't grab a hold of the vehicles and board them mid-transit. After a moment of awkward silence, Alex started rooting around in the glove box.

"Oh. My. God," she said as she pulled something from the glove box. Jason looked over, she was holding a white iPhone wire.

"So?" asked Jason. Alex immediately started digging through her pockets and pulled out an iPhone. Jason guessed the battery had died long ago. She plugged the wire into the port on the lorry's dashboard and attached her phone. After a moment, she made a triumphant noise.

"It's charging!" she announced happily.

"Meh, You can't call anyone but I guess you could use it as a music player. You got any tunes?"

"I've got some," said Alex happily as her phone came to the life for the first time in nearly 2 months. She happily tapped her phone's screen a few time and a moment later, music started to waft from lorry's speakers, giving a sense of normality to a pair of armed to the teeth teenagers dressed in body armour driving a lorry in the zombie apocalypse.

"So how are thing's really going with Akio?" asked Alex.

"What do you mean by 'really' going on with her?" asked Jason, slightly confused as to where she was going with this.

"Come on Jay," she said, "We all know you like her. But do you 'like' like her?" Jason sighed.

"Truthfully. I don't know," He said. He just stared out of the window as he drove. "I've... I've never had a girlfriend before." Alex was astounded.

"Really? But you're..."

"I was my year group's military history nerd shut-in. While everyone else was out partying and getting drunk, I spent my Friday nights and weekend's double timing up a mountain with an SA80 to a firing range. It's a vivid image that most girls don't dig."

"Most girls? So there were some girls that were interested?"

"There was one. But it wouldn't have worked."

"Why not?"

"I couldn't be with someone who stabbed my best friend in the back."

"How..."

"Her name was Helen. Total bombshell with a titanic chest to boot. A bit off, if you know what I mean, but me mate John saw right past that. They dated for about 4 months, never seen him happier, all he would go on about was their last date night. She then fell pregnant, tried to pin it on John, who wasn't the father. He ended it, she didn't take it well, told everyone he was the father and went on how about he was abandoning her and his child. It came out that she'd gotten pregnant during an orgy she'd been taking part in. But the damage to John's reputation had been done. She got an abortion, but was a few months later busted for soliciting."

"So why did you like her?"

"After much thought and due consideration, I think I liked her... for her tits."

There was a moment of bated silence before Alex started laughing. Jason joined in,

"I know, terrible isn't it?"

"Well to be fair..."

" _Juliet Romeo, this is Snatch 1. We're approaching the Eccleston gate. Over."_

Jason grabbed the radio and immediately went back into his 'soldier' mode.

"Alpha Charlie Alpha Charlie, this is Juliet Romeo. Alpha dismount, see if you can find a manual override for the gate or some way to open it, preferably without break it. Mr. Kincaid, remain in the vehicle. Bravo will dismount and provide cover. Alpha Bravo acknowledges over."

" _This is Alpha. Understood. Over."_

" _Bravo. Understood. Over."_

"Right. Let's get it done. Out."

The convoy came to a halt by the gate. 1 section disembarked and moved on the black iron gate, dispatching a few infected as they went. Jason was especially pleased that they used their blades first rather than their firearms, as the use of the latter would have blown the whole op prematurely. While they worked, Jason gave them a few pointers, this was, after all, a training mission as well as a supply run. He pointed out to Bravo team that if one of them took up position on top of the Land Rover, it would give them better long range warning of any infected. He was about to give Alpha a pointer when they got the gate open.

"Alright, back in the vehicles, let's go."

They drove through the gates, pausing so that they could be closed behind them. The convoy drove up the road towards the central estate itself. The central estate was large, consisting of grassland surrounded by a forest, with a large country house at the centre with attached outbuildings. As well as a native herd of deer, the estate also boasted a golf course, cricket ground and miniature railway.

" _Contact. Zed's eye's up."_

Everyone who could see from a window went eye's up. There were groups on infected dotting around the area; they appeared to have been idle until the convoy's engine noise got their attention. The vehicles each shuddered as they passed over a cattle grate that was flanked by a trench, then the radio crackled again.

" _Juliet Romeo, this is Snatch 2. The infected that tried to follow us across the cattle grate are getting stuck in it. A few are crossing the trenches, though. Over."_

"Understood Snatch 2. Keep an eye on them out," Replied Jason. The convoy came to the estate's outbuildings compound. It was a collection of stone, red brick and black and white buildings that pretty much summed up British building for the last few hundred years. The whole compound was surrounded by a low stone wall and a 2-metre deep trench, intended to stop deer's, and apparently it also did a half decent job at keeping out infected. There were only a few inside because the gate was open.

"All teams dismount and secure the area." Ordered Jason as the convoy cleared the open gate. The vehicle came to a stop and the soldiers disembarked, rifles raised and ready. Fireteam Bravo shut and secured the gates while Alpha and Jason set about clearing the immediate area of infected. Jason drew his bayonet and fixed it to his L85 as he walked up towards an infected.

"Wishing you had brought the Corporal or Johnny along sergeant?" called Dawn. Jason snorted a laugh.

"Nah," he called back, plunging his bayonet into the infected's temple. "I can do my own killing just fine thanks."

Within a few minutes, the infected were cleared and the area secured.

"Right then," said Jason as he pulled his knife from an infected and whipped its blood off the blade on its shirt. "Let's get those bucks. Alpha, go with Mr. Kincaid and bag us some venison. Mr. Kincaid will tell you which you can and cannot shoot. Give us a buzz when you've got them and I'll come over with the truck. Bravo set security. Alex, stay with Bravo. Any questions?"

There were none so Jason sent off the fireteams to do their thing. As they dispersed, he quietly slipped back into the lorry he'd driven in. Once inside he removed his phone from a pocket. It had run out of power ages ago and presently served as nothing more than a memory sake, but he held onto it with the hope he could find a way to charge it, there were things on it he wanted, no needed, before they faded from memory.

...

 **Fireteam Alpha**

Alpha stalked across the open field. The 5 persons moved in a diamond formation with Kincaid in the middle, Dawn and Private Vickers were on the flanks with their marksman rifles, Moon was up front and bringing up the rear was Private Dice armed with their L85's. There was still the odd infected around them, but they seemed oddly docile as if extended time without stimuli had made them almost go to sleep. The team didn't want to disturb them so they manoeuvred slowly through the fields of the estate, and kept communication down to hand signals and almost whispers while they watched for any sign of the deer.

"Got'em," announced Dawn. "2 O'clock, about 200 meters."

The team looked over and sure enough, just emerging from the tree line, was a large herd of deer.

"Aw righty than''," said Kincaid as he dropped to a knee and put his binoculars to his face for a closer look. While he did that, Akio and Vickers dropped down prone and set up their L129's on their rail mounted bipods.

"Remember," reiterated Dawn as she looked over the herd through her scope. "Don't fire if you don't think you can hit the target. As soon as we shoot, _they_ will know were here."

"Aye. An daene shoot until I tell ye which uns' ta shoot," Added Kincaid, still looking through his binoculars. "Ahh, tha's a good'un. See tha'un with the large antlers? That's a prize un'."

"Got it," murmured Vickers, adjusting his hold on his rifle.

"An... That'un. Tha one who's... oh."

Dawn immediately knew which stag Kincaid was talking about, as it proceeded to mount and start getting frisky with one of the nearby Hind, and given his facial expression was enjoying himself. The teenagers did their best to stifle their laughter.

"Well, at least, he'll die happy," said Dawn as her

"Give the dude a minute!" said Vickers. "No one deserves to die mid-shag. And imagine how'd you feel if Moon suddenly..." He trailed off as he caught sight of the death glare that Dawn shooting at him. Duly they waited for a moment and the stag de-mounted his mate with a satisfied look on his face.

"Ok, he's had his fun," said Dawn. "Now then, permission to fire?"

"Clear," said Kincaid.

"Fire... Fire... Fire," said Dawn. On the 3rd fire, she squeezed the trigger as did Vickers a moment after her. The report of their rifles echoed across the field, but 2 bucks dropped dead down range. As the report echoed, the remaining deer in the herd scattered, and every infected in the area seemingly started groaning again and heading for Alpha.

"Juliet Romeo this is Sierra One Alpha. Times 2 target's down, their cover is blown and infected closing on all sides. Request permission to engage over."

" _Roger Sierra One Alpha. Cover blown, go loud. I'll bring the truck over for the bucks. Out."_

"Go loud," Ordered Akio. "Let's secure those bucks!"

Immediately the team was on their feet and on the move, keeping their pace slow and taking aimed shots as they moved. The Infected that moved on them from all sides started dropping one by one, but when they got about half way to their quarry, they saw them.

"Oh shit," was all Dawn said when she saw them coming out of the tree line. There were hundreds... maybe thousands of infected, and they were heading straight for them.

"Tactical retreat!" ordered Dawn. She and Moon dropped to a knee and he started laying down cover fire while she got on the radio.

"Alpha Charlie! Alpha Charlie! This is Sierra One Alpha! Jack Rabbit! I say again Jack Rabbit! We are in full retreat back to RV point over."

Jack Rabbit was the codeword they'd agreed on for the mission that signalled the need for the op to be scrubbed and an immediate evacuation.

" _Understood Sierra One Alpha. We're moving toward you now. Just keep heading back towards us. Juliet Romeo Out."_

Dawn grabbed Moon on the shoulder and pulled him up.

"Don't bother shooting," she said. "There are too many of them for us to even dent with the ammo we've got."

"Good point," said Moon as he stood up. "Run?"

"Run," Dawn Agreed. The couple turned and ran after Vickers, Dice and Kincaid. The infected were defiantly on to them now if they weren't before, a few of them had even started lumbering faster after them. While they didn't break into an all out sprint, Alpha had to run faster than a jog to open up the gap, and they needed to open up the gap early. There was well over a kilometre between where they were and the RV, and the infected weren't being weighed down with body armour and kit bags and thus wouldn't tire as fast if they even tired at all.

"Look over there!" called Vickers, pointing into the distance. The team looked over as they ran. In the distance, they could make out to outlines of a group of people. They appeared to be also running from the infected horde but were also being weighed down with bags.

"Do we help them?" asked Vickers, slowing slightly.

Dawn considered it. It would be possible for them to get to the civilians, but to do so they'd have to run perpendicular to the herd, bringing them in closer and risking her team further. There was also no guarantee that they would be able to get them back to the vehicles for extraction.

"No," Dawn said. "ROE say that If they ask for our help directly we have to help them, otherwise we can ignore or leave them. Besides, we need to save our own necks first." Vickers looked at her disgusted.

"You saying we're just going to leave them?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying Private!" she snapped. "Now keep running!"

They continued to run towards the RV until they saw the 2 Land Rovers and the box lorry round the corner of a forest and move towards them. On top cover in each Snatch was a member of Fireteam Bravo with their rifles ready to lay down covering fire. The vehicles careened to a stop and Alpha wasted no time re-embarking their snatches. As soon as they were on the vehicles reversed course and departed the estate with all haste.

One section, and particularly Fireteam Alpha, were silent the entire way back to Base, disappointed with their failure.

* * *

 **Please review/ favourite/ follow :)**

 **Hi guys,**

 **Amazing what you can do with 3 days and bugger all else to do.**

 **As you can see, I have gone for the 3 shorter chapters option, partly so I can do each chapter proper justice and add a bit more character development. Next chapter will probably be out sometime next week... don't hold me to that though.**

 **Enjoy your day and thanks for reading**

 **Jango**


	15. Chapter 15

**Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak**

 **Chapter 15: fight another day**

 **Patrol base Cornwell  
Lounge/ briefing room.**

 **Z-day +52**  
 **05:27**

Jason headed up to the roof with sniper rifle in hand. It was a ritual he did each morning; go up to the roof and spend some time taking a look for himself at the surrounding area. It was all very well asking the soldiers on stag what the situation was outside the wall, and he trusted them to make the right call, but he liked to see for himself. As he climbed the last flight of stairs to the roof access, he found he wasn't alone.

There was a figure sat cross-legged by the ledge, dressed in their MTP fatigues and from the sound of it, was crying.

Jason walked up to the soldier and put a hand on their shoulder. The soldier looked up at him. Like the vast majority of the soldiers on base, it was a teenage boy. His name tag read Forty, he was a soldier in 2 section.

"Hey, man what's up?" asked Jason, sitting down next to the teenage soldier. While Forty was only 2 years younger than Jason, he looked like he was about 14 due to his slightly porky appearance.

"Nothing Sergeant!" replied Forty, quickly whipping away tears and putting on a brave face. Jason could read Forty like a book. He was the stereotypical overweight teenager, was probably bullied at school and while just wanting to have a normal life but also havened an inner darkness. He reminded Jason of Hirano in some ways.

"Come on man," said Jason. "Tell me what's up. You and your section are going on a run today and I need you level headed. So what is it?"

"It's just..." he stammered before he sighed. "It's the 23rd of May today."

"Right..." said Jason. He'd stopped counting the days a while ago, to him it was just so many days since it all ended.

"Today is my best friend's birthday," explained Forty. "She would have been 16 today. But I haven't seen her since the day this all started."

Jason could see that it was a painful thing for Forty.

"What was her name?"

"Elizabeth," said Forty. "Elizabeth Mills."

"You never know mate," said Jason, trying to instil some form of confidence in the young man. "She could be still out there."

"Yeah, maybe," replied Forty half-heartedly. Jason could see his encouragement wasn't working, so he tried a different tactic. He tried to recall the kid's file to strike up a conversation.

"I heard from Corporal Note that you're a good shot. Ever thought of going for marksman or sniper training?"

"I tried," sighed Forty, "but Sergeant Owens' blocked my request. He said I needed to spend my specialist training time on PT, rather than sniper training."

"Really?" said Jason incredulously. That sounded exactly like Owens. He'd done the same thing to Jason while he was in the cadets, blocking his entry into the wing shooting team. It was part of the reason he went to America to shoot.

"Well, Owens's ain't here," said Jason. "If I were to run some marksman and sniper training classes, would you come?"

"Defiantly," replied Forty, he looked significantly happier at the prospect.

"Good," said Jason. He picked up his L115 from where he'd laid it down. "Let's begin. The L115A3 is a magazine fed, bolt action, sniper and anti-material rifle chambered for .338 Lapua..."

* * *

 **Patrol base Cornwell  
Mess tent**

 **Z-day +52**  
 **06:00**

"Morning," said Jason as he walked into the mess tent. He passed Akio and Alex who were sat at one of the tables enjoying a nice packet of warmish ration pack number 12 (or maybe 16, neither of them could tell.) He joined their table with his own ration pack a moment later.

"And where were you this morning?" asked Akio. "I missed my morning wake-up call."

"Impromptu sniper lesson," replied Jason as he dug into his ration pack.

"One section are still pretty bummed out," said Akio. "They failed and are still kicking themselves about it."

"They'll get another chance," said Jason. "A heard that size doesn't stay in one place for long. Sooner or later we will see them again, and we're going to need everyone when we do."

"True that," said Akio through a mouthful of ration pack. "Oh, bad news. That sniper got another one. Wounded some poor sod on the wall. His armour took the hit but he fell backwards 7 meters onto the tarmac. He's in the hospital."

"Same MO?"

"They aren't sure yet, but it looks like it."

"Well, hopefully, they'll let us after him soon," said Jason as he downed the rest of his ration pack. "Now if you excuse me. I've got to wake up 2 section. Briefing in 20 guys. See you there."

...

 **08:00**

"2 Section! Section Shun'!" called Note. The section snapped to, fully kitted out with weapons, provisions and body armour. They were formed up with the vehicles behind them and waiting to be told to embark.

"Alright then," said Jason as he stepped in front of the section, equally armed and armoured. "As you know were going in with no recon and little to no support. So remember to think it through. Stay focused, and we'll stay alive and come home with some shiny second-hand weapons. Now then, remind me. What's the bayonet for?"

"Kill!" shouted back 2 section. It was a tactic Jason had used during their training to get them hyped up.

"I can't hear you," said Jason back egging them on. "What's the bayonet for?"

"KILL!"

"I think they're still asleep Corporal Long. I said WHAT'S THE BAYONET FOR?!"

"KILL! KILL! KILL!"

"Ah good you're awake. Let's roll."

The section fell out and mounted up in their vehicles. Again the fireteams travelled in the Snatches although Jason rode in snatch one with Akio and fireteam Alpha while Alex drove the lorry with Johnny riding shotgun. This had been a twofold decision by Jason; 1. So he could talk with the section to keep hopes up and minds on task, and 2. So Alex and Johnny could listen to her god-awful selection of disco music without driving anyone insane.

The road to the TA base was relatively long. As the convoy rolled, the teams in the land rovers started getting board. After a moment Popplewell broke the silence by producing an old game boy advanced, the starting tune getting the squad's attention. He looked up and explained.

"I had it with me when everything happened. Charged it up overnight and bagged a copy of Pokémon emerald last I was in town. Now's as good a time as any."

"Nice," commented Case who was riding opposite Popplewell. "What starter are you going for?"

"I was thinking Mudkip," replied Popplewell as he set about the game. Akio snorted.

"Are you out of your mind?" she asked. "Treecko is obviously the best choice. Water is weak to grass. Sceptile will kick Marshtomp's ass, no bother."

"Yeah," cut in Case, "and Blaziken will cook all your asses."

"Except when I douse him with hydro pump!" sniped Popplewell with a smirk.

"I always liked Bulbasaur," said Jason. The whole Snatch went into an uproar against him, sparking a debate that lasted all the way to the objective.

...

Aber looked over the objective through her scope from her overwatch position.

The objective was a Territorial Army barracks at Elsmere port. The TA were Britain's weekend warriors, the army reserve. While their kit may not all be as cutting edge as the regular army's, they were still equipped with many of the same pieces of kit as the regulars. This particular base had been home to A Company, 153rd Logistic regiment. The base was a compound consisting of a frontal office/ barracks building that faced onto the road. Behind it was a central courtyard with a large garage, assault course and support area for the bases vehicles. The whole compound was surrounded by a barbed wire topped chain link fence.

"Got one," said Forty, who was lying prone next to her, watching with his L85. "2nd floor. 3rd window from the left."

"I see him," said Aber as she panned her rifle over.

"What've we got?" asked Jason as he came up behind them.

"We've counted 6 in the main building that we've seen," Reported Aber. "We could wait for them to show again then take 'em out from here before we go in."

Jason considered the suggestion.

"No. If your weapons were suppressed it would be a different matter. There are enough infected in the area that we don't want to fire out in the open if we can avoid it. We go CQC. Gather in."

Forty and Aber stood up from their prone position on top of the box lorry and clambered down, rejoining the rest of 2 section, who were positioned in guard positions around the halted convoy. Jason spoke briefly with Corporal Johnson, who then briefed the section.

"Right then. Here's the plan. I want Fireteam Bravo to stay with Miss Reva and the vehicles for the moment. Fireteam Alpha, as well as Corporal Long and Sergeant Rees, will move up to the gates and get them open. Once they are, we'll drive the vehicles inside the perimeter. From there we'll lock them up and set about clearing the office building room by room in pairs. That way we can quickly find the armoury and stores rooms while eliminating any threats. The only exceptions to that will be Aber and Forty. I need you guys to keep an eye on Ms. Reva and watch for anything that might come up behind us. Any questions?"

There were none. Fireteam Alpha made ready to move and formed up in a single line.

"On your work Corporal," said Jason, once he was satisfied they were ready. Johnson nodded.

"Prepare to move," he said. "Move."

The assault team moved off. Johnny was in front with Akio close behind, covering his sword with her combat shotgun. They were followed by Private Popplewell who had the section's bolt cutters and another combat shotgun. Johnson and Jason followed with L85's ready as did Private's Stuart and Jones who brought up the rear. When they hit the gate, it did not take long for Popplewell to break the lock and the gate to be opened. Once the vehicles were in, Popplewell broke out a heavy duty bike lock that they used for securing gates like this one when they'd busted the lock.

"Remember guy's," said Johnson as everyone paired off. "We're looking for the Armoury, Magazine, Stores and Commanders office. I'll take Popplewell and go for the CO's office. Corporal Long, take Johnny and go for the armoury and magazine, they'll be close to each other. Jones, you go with Stuart and find stores. Sergeant Rees, I'll let you decide where you'll be best placed."

"I'll accompany you and Popplewell to the CO's office," said Jason. Aber and Forty called that they were set up in overwatch and the assault teams moved out. But before she went off, Jason whispered to Akio;

"Be careful. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Good," she replied. "I thought I was the only one."

...

 **Jason**

"Alright, Popplewell, which way to the CO's office?" asked Johnson.

"Down the corridor, first left, 2nd door on the right," said Popplewell. Jason could tell he was distracted. Probably still holding out hope that his father was here, the man had been called up along with the cadets and the rest of the military.

"Where did your father work Private?" asked Jason, sweeping left to right with his rifle.

"Admin," Replied Popplewell. "His office was about 5 doors down from the CO's office."

"Why do we even need the CO's office?" asked Johnson.

"It's a long shot but the keys to the armoury and other secure areas might be there," answered Jason. The 3 of them continued down the hallway in silence, heading towards the CO's office. As they advanced, Jason picked up on the radio chatter of the different teams clearing the building and Aber outside.

" _2-3 and 2-4. West side ground floor clear."_

" _2-7 and 2-8. Entering gym now."_

" _2-5 and 2-6. I've got a group of infected taking an interest in the gate. Permission to fire? Over."_

"Negative 2-5," said Jason. "If it gets above a dozen or so then go ahead. If it's just a few don't bother. Out."

Jason almost bumped into Popplewell when the point man held up his fist. Johnson and Jason froze, waiting for further instructions. Popplewell tapped his ear twice.

 _Listen._

Jason turned down the volume on his radio and listened. He could hear the sound of quiet moaning, as well as bumping. It was coming around the next corner, which being an internal corridor had no windows to let in light and was thus pitch black because of the lack of power for the overhead lights.

"Sounds like one of them," said Popplewell.

"Let's get it!" said Johnson eagerly, Jason grabbed him by the scruff of his body armour before he could get too far.

"Stop and think!" Jason snarled. "We don't know where it is! There could be more!"

"R...Right," said Johnson, getting his shit together rather quickly. "Tac-lights on. Popplewell, you go point, Rees and I will cover."

"Better," commented Rees as he flicked on the tactical light mounted on his L85's rail. Johnson did the same and the 3 moved around the corner into the darkened corridor. The 2 tac-lights illuminated the darkened corridor, revealing a disturbing scene.

Someone had tried to make a stand here. Desks and furniture had been moved out into the hallways to form staggered barricades going down the hallway. There were bodies on the ground; civvies and soldiers dressed in army camouflage, each wearing PLCE webbing and sporting bite marks, and missing portions of their heads.

"Looks like they took themselves out after they got bitten," said Johnson as they advanced through the carnage. There were weapons littering the ground, spent bullet casings, but what was most curious was the door at the end of the hallway, someone had pushed a bookcase over it. From the way the impromptu defences were positioned, it looked like they were defending it, like they really didn't want the infected to get inside.

"Looks like they got themselves cornered," said Johnson as he picked his way through the debris.

"I'm not sure," said Jason, examining the bookcase covered door at the end of the corridor. "Anyway, CO's office."

The 3 took up position around the door. They tried the door, but it was locked from the inside.

"Alright then," said Jason, "The hard way it is then. Popplewell, you've seen how they kick doors in on cop shows right?"

"Yeah?"

"Here's how you do it for real. Good thrust kick just to the right of the lock, everything you've got."

"Where did you learn that?" asked Johnson. "No! Let me guess... cadets?"

"Nope," replied Jason. " A few damn good parties and time with the Yanks."

"Alright. Let's do it," said Popplewell. He took a deep breath before he brought his foot up and booted the door inwards. As soon as the door flung open and his boot landed, Popplewell fired his shotgun twice and moved in. Jason and Johnson were hot on their heels as the entered and swept the room.

"Clear?" said Johnson.

"Clear," confirmed Jason. He let his rifle drop and hand from its sling as he looked over first at the door then at Popplewell and the deceased infected corpse he was looking at.

"Nice work mate," said Jason, placing a congratulatory hand on Popplewell's shoulder. Popplewell didn't answer, he just kept looking at the corpse. Jason saw his stare, he'd seen it before, the thousand yard stare. He looked at the corpse himself. The head was almost completely gone, nothing but a black bloody mulch with bits of white bone sticking out in places. He looked down to the infected's chest then he saw what it was. The name tag stitched to the man's combat fatigue; _Popplewell._

He'd just put down his own father.

"Popplewell, I'm so sorry," said Jason. The private was starting to tear up, and Jason knew what he needed to do. "Private, we're losing radio comms with the other teams. Go get me a status report from each of the assault teams."

Popplewell remained rooted to the spot and looking at his father.

"Private," reaffirmed Jason. This time, Popplewell took notice and left the room, still somewhat understandably shaken up.

"What's his problem?" asked Johnson, looking up from behind the desk that sat in the centre of the room. Jason shot the Corporal a look that only could be described as disgusted.

"He just did _that_ to his own father," said Jason spitefully. "I'd think a little sympathy would be in order Corporal. Now have you found that key or anything useful?"

"One moment," said Johnson. He broke into another draw in the desk. He held up a set of key's triumphantly. "Got'em."

"Right," said Jason unimpressed. He clicked on his radio. "All call signs this is Juliet Romeo. We've got the key's. Call out when we've got the armoury or magazine."

 _"This is 2-7. We've found the armoury, Juliet Romeo. The door was open and it's been severally depleted. Over."_

"Understood 2-7. I'm on my way," said Jason. "Corporal with me."

As the 2 headed out, they stopped to make safe the L85's the fallen soldiers had been using. As they did, Jason couldn't help but look at the bookcase barricaded door.

Why had these soldiers given their lives to defend it so desperately?

...

 **Akio**

Akio grunted as she brought her kukri down into another infected. It dropped dead as the sharpened steel edge penetrated its already plagued brain. Akio pulled the knife from its skull, whipping the blade free of brain matter and gore. She turned around to see Johnny whipping his sword clean with a shirt taken from one of his victims.

Around them lay the corpses of 9 infected that they had run across. Each in varying scales of dismemberment and decapitation.

"How many did you get?" asked Akio as she polished off the last of the grime that desecrated her blade.

"5," replied Johnny as he slid his sword back into its scabbard. "You?"

"4," replied Akio begrudgingly.

"Ha," snorted Johnny. "Falling behind." Akio scowled at him. She was about to sheath her kukri, when she quickly threw it at Johnny. Johnny was only partway to drawing his sword when the knife missed his face by less than a foot and buried itself in the head of an infected less than 3 meters behind Johnny. He looked at the corpse as it collapsed; he'd never heard it, he was too busy gloating.

"5," said Akio smugly as she pushed past Johnny and reclaimed her knife.

"Th... Thanks," He said, his mind still processing what had unfolded. She wrenched her knife clean and casually whipped the blood off it on Johnny's trench coat.

"You're welcome," she said with a smirk as she slid her kukri back into its sheath which sat MOLLE'd to her right shoulder blade. She drew her shotgun which she had stowed in its own scabbard, also, MOLLE'd to her back. "Let's check that garage."

"Okay."

The 2 moved toward a side door to the garage. The garage was a large building with 6 bay doors, each large enough and tall enough to easily accommodate all but the largest logistics trucks used by the British army. Johnny drew his sword, holding it in one hand while taking the doorknob in the other. Akio levelled her shotgun at the door, before nodding to Johnny to go ahead. Johnny turned the knob and pushed the door open. Akio moved in with her weapon raised and scanning. Johnny came in behind her with his sword drawn.

The room was dark. The only light source was a row of windows in the top of the building, but the room was still darkened without artificial light. However, they could still make out the hulking form of parked army vehicles in the dark. Still, the 2 could hear no infected, and crucially the air just smelt stuffy and did not stink of death and decay.

"Clear?" queried Johnny.

"Yeah," said Akio. "I think we're good." She clicked on her shotgun's tactical light, offering some illumination to the darkened room. "Let's get some of the doors open, so we can see what we've got."

Akio pointed her light over toward the garage doors, illuminating the chain used to pull the gates open. Johnny started pulling on the chain and the door started to climb its frame, letting light into the vehicle bay. Akio surveyed their newly acquired vehicles. Aside from a pair of quadbikes and a single army lorry, the same kind as the one's they already had in Chester, there were 2 other vehicles which she did not recognise as well as a black pickup truck.

The 2 unknowns were the same, boxy, offset vehicles that sat on 4 wheels and they looked well armoured.

"Well, he's certainly going to like this," mumbled Akio to herself as she clicked on her radio. "This is Alpha Lemma. We've secured the Garage. We've found the following; 2 quad bikes with trailers, an army lorry, a pickup and 2 armoured vehicles we cannot identify. Over."

" _Understood Alpha Lemma,"_ replied Jason over the radio. "I'll come over and take a look at the armoured vehicles. Out."

...

 **Captured TA barracks  
10:30**

By the time mid-morning came, the base had been more or less fully cleared. The armoury, magazine and stores had also been found and although depleted, there was certainly enough to be useful. As well as that, they had also found communications gear and generators in the base, and the garage, as well as the quad bikes and 14-ton lorry, had yielded an unexpected prize; a pair of Saxon armoured personnel carriers.

Although even as the some of the were loading up the gear they had come for into the vehicles and the others worked on getting the newly acquired vehicles fuelled and loaded, Jason was still stuck on something.

The bookcase barricaded the door.

Why had these soldiers given their lives in such an improvised defence of the room? After 5 minutes of pondering this problem while staring at the wall, Akio came up to him.

"Hey. You ok?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jason said, finally making up his mind "Give me a hand."

She was about to ask him with what when he started towards the bookcase and started to man handle it aside.

"Are you sure that's wise?" she asked as she moved up and helped him to move the bookcase aside

"Whatever was in here, these soldiers gave their lives defending," Said Jason. "I want to know what they died for."

They manhandled the bookcase aside and tried the door, unsurprisingly it was locked, but the door was heavier than its wooden appearance portrayed. Jason clicked his radio.

"Sierra 2-1 this is Juliet Romeo. Get over to the CO's office with those keys at the double. Out," He said. These soldiers had died defending and barricading an armoured door which was locked. They really didn't want the infected getting in there. After a minute or so, Corporal Johnson arrived with the keys.

"Stay here and keep the door open," instructed Jason. He took the key's and tried each of the one's that looked like it would fit in the key hole until he got one that worked. The sound of the lock disengaging seemed uncomfortably loud, considering they had no idea what was on the other side.

"Akio, Get ready," said Jason. Akio raised her shotgun and pointed it at the door. When she nodded to Jason that she was ready, he pulled the door open. Akio moved in before stopping in the doorway.

"Clear," she said. "Stairway down," Jason looked over her shoulder. There was indeed a metal staircase down with what looked like a stereotypical bank vault door at the bottom, complete with locking wheel.

"Vault?" reckoned Akio.

"Bunker," said Jason. The 2 headed down the stairs, rifles scanning and tac-lights illuminating the darkness. Finding no infected, they stacked up on the bunker door.

"Ready?" asked Akio as she had her shotgun ready again

"Let's do it," said Jason. He spun the wheel on the vault door. They could hear the internal locking mechanism disengaging as it spun, then with a good heave, the door cracked open. Neither of them was prepared for what they saw.

The room had no source of light and stank of death. There were bunks, cupboards, and bodies.

"Dear god," mumbled Jason as He and Akio moved in slowly. Movement on the first bed caught their eye, immediately Akio and Jason turned their weapons to target.

"Please..." said the person, her voice throaty and dehydrated. "...Help us..."

They looked at the woman. She looked like hell; dehydrated, starving, covered in grime and dirt and with little to no muscle on her body. Jason turned back to the door and shouted up the stairs.

"MEDIC!"

...

 **10:45**

Alex jumped down from the back of the lorry. The soldiers had converted it rapidly into an impromptu ambulance/ casualty ward. She'd just finished tending to the wounded as best she could, which had been a thankless and difficult task. She reached for the water bottle on her belt, only to remember that she'd used the last of it to treat dehydration in the people they'd recovered from the bunker. She'd been slightly nauseous over the last few days and had been washing it away with frequent drinks of water.

"Alex," said Jason as he walked up to her. "How're..." Alex interrupted him by grabbing him, rotating him 90 degrees and plucking his water bottle from its pouch on his webbing belt, before proceeding to down half of its contents, washing away of the worst of the nausea.

"Thanks," she said, whipping away a bit of water that had escaped her mouth and handed back Jason his depleted water bottle.

"You ok?" asked Jason. He'd noticed Alex had been slightly off over the last week or so and had put it down to a bug doing the rounds.

"Fine," replied Alex. "You wanted something?"

"How are the patients?" asked Jason, abandoning his immediate thoughts of her wellbeing.

"Of the 8 we rescued. I think 6 will be fine, the other 2 I'm not so sure about," said Alex. "You spoke to command?"

"Corporal Johnson is talking to them now," said Jason. "Speak of the devil."

"Sargeant, Doc," greeted Corporal Johnson as he walked up to the pair. "I just got off the horn with command. They're sending 2 sections and 3 ambulances with accompanying medical staff to assist. But they said they wanted you to RTB."

"Ok," said Jason. "As soon as the relief has arrived we'll head back," replied Jason. Johnson shook his head.

"No Sargeant," he said. "They said they want _you_ back at base ASAP." Jason frowned, this sent alarm bells ringing in his head. If they were pulling him from the field mid op with only a few hours to go until completion, then something was _very_ wrong.

"Alright," said Jason. "I'll take one of the quadbikes back to base. Inform everyone I've been recalled and that Corporal Long and you have command, Johnson. Make sure we get our share of the supplies and the 2 Saxon's brought back to base."

"Will do boss," said Johnson. He dismissed himself and headed off to see to it. Jason passed Alex a nod farewell before heading to the garage to see about getting one of the quad bikes fuelled for transport.

* * *

 **Patrol base Cornwell  
Z-day +52  
11:30**

Jason rode the quadbikes through the gates of Patrol base Cornwell, attracting the attention of One section who were on guard duty, wondering why he'd come back alone. He parked the quad bike and shut off its engine near the motor pool and was flagged down by a passing private from 3 section.

"Sergeant," he said. "Major Marsden and Staff Sergeant Sale are waiting for you in the ops room.

Jason thanked the private and headed towards the ops room, not bothering to stop in his quarters to drop off his body armour. He entered the ops room and found both Sale and Marsden sitting in the room with cups of instant coffee in hand.

"Sergeant Rees." greeted Marsden.

"Sir. Staff," said Jason as he snapped off a salute to Marsden who returned it casually.

"Relax Sergeant," ordered Marsden. "Make yourself comfortable." Jason nodded and set about making safe his L85 before removing his body armour and setting it aside.

"Somehow I'm guessing this isn't good. Is it sir?" asked Jason as he sat down.

"No. It isn't," said Marsden grimly. The room took a sourer atmosphere as Jason sat down as they got down to business. "You are aware of the sniper that has been sniping at our units beyond the wall?"

"That the one who leaves a spent .303 casing in each of his sniper nests?" asked Jason, clarifying that they were talking about the same sniper.

"That's the one," said Marsden.

"He struck again last night," said Sale. "A soldier on wall duty at dusk. Headshot."

"Damn," muttered Jason. That brought the sniper's tally to 6 as far as Jason knew. Sale continued.

"We found his sniper nest, same MO. One.303 calibre bullet casing left on the windowsill, only, this time, he left something else."

"A letter," said Marsden, predicting the question Jason was about to ask. "Addressed to you."

Jason didn't bother to hide his surprise and confusion. Sale reached into a nearby bag and removed a clear resealable plastic wallet, inside was a white envelope which had been opened.

"We already opened and read it," said Marsden. "It's from a mutual acquaintance of ours."

Jason took the plastic bag and removed the envelope. It was a fine quality paper envelope with slightly scruffy but legible handwriting addressing it to _'Cadet Sergeant Jason Rees'_. Jason frowned at it and removed the letter from inside. It too was on high-quality paper and written in the same handwriting. His frown deepened as he read the letter.

 _Dear Jason Rees,_

 _It has been a while since you last saw me, when I was thrown out of the States and Cadets because of you and that Japanese kid._

 _You have seen what I am capable of. I have killed 6 of your army's 'soldiers' and have your attention. I challenge you to kill me. One sniper to another._

 _Fire a red flare from the top of the Chester cathedral tower when you have received this letter, this will signal the beginning of our fight. Until you do I will kill another soldier each day until you do. I will be watching._

 _I shall prove I am the better sniper, once and for all._

 _From  
Former Cadet Will Maine_

Jason looked the letter over again, before lookup at Marsden.

"Well... shit."

"My thoughts exactly Sergeant," said Marsden. He sighed. "Rees, I can't order you to go after him. But we have no way of predicting or stopping him, and his actions are having an effect on morale. It's bad enough they've got to worry about the living dead when they're out there, let alone getting their heads blown off by a sniper. If there's a chance that he will stop if you challenge him..."

"Will was a lot of things. But he is a man of his word," said Jason. "If I give him the fight he wants', he will probably stop attacking our patrols. Doesn't sound like much of a choice to me sir."

"You don't have to do this alone Jason," said Sale, "We can use the special operations detachment..."

"No," cut off Jason. "If he sees us using anyone else against him, he could go back on his word and start going after soldiers again, or worse. It has to be me."

"You sure?"

"I'll need someone to take over teaching this lot," said Jason, gesturing around the base. "But yes sir. I'm certain." Marsden nodded.

"Very well. I'll arrange for another NCO to take over from you. You better go and pack."

"Yes sir," said Jason. He stood up from his chair and saluted before picking up his rifle and body armour and heading for the door.

"And Sergeant," Added Marsden.

"Sir?"

"Give him hell."

* * *

From the darkness of Handbridge. Will Maine watched as a red flare soared into the sky above Chester. He smiled evilly as he picked up his Lee Enfield rifle and charged it.

The hunt was on.

* * *

 **Dear reader,**

 **Who's ready for some sniper on sniper action? Glad to hear it.**

 **Next chapter will be out before long.**

 **As ever if you could please review/favourite/ follow it would be appreciated.**

 **From Jango**


	16. Chapter 16

**Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak**

 **Chapter 16: Hunters in the Dark**

 **Approx ¼ mile outside Chester safezone  
Z-day +54  
23:57**

Lightning flashed across the rain-soaked city, lighting up the skyline for a brief moment before thunder rumbled in the skies above.

From his sniper nest atop the old abandoned shot tower, Jason scanned for targets. His L115 sat cushioned on his patrol bag, its night vision scope allowing him to pierce the darkness with a green tinge to his Sight. It had been 2 days since his battle with his former friend and colleague had begun, and both were intent on ending the other.

Jason Sighed as he panned his rifle over a row of houses over a kilometre away. Will had already used one of them as a sniper nest once before, he wasn't naive enough to use the same shooting point twice. As he watched for any Sign of movement, but it was a futile effort. Will was just as good at hiding as Jason, and an even better shot. The only advantages that Jason had were that Will didn't know where he was, and his rifle could outrange Will's.

As he watched and waited, Jason thought back to when the rift between Will and he first formed; during their time shooting in America...

* * *

 _ **-Flashback-**_

 **Blackwater PMC HQ  
North Carolina**

 **15:12**

Jason and Will walked into the lobby of Blackwater PMC's head office together. Jason had spent the last month travelling and had met Will in New York before travelling down to Blackwater via Amtrak. They had decided together that they would come out to the states to do this course together, Jason so that Sergeant Owens would no longer have a valid excuse to keep him from the shooting team. Will so that he could just shoot stuff with high calibre weaponry.

They approached the front desk and were greeted by an attractive receptionist.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" she asked. Before Jason could stop him, Will was in there.

"Ask me again in that janitor's closet," Will said slyly. The woman smiled curtly at the teenager hitting on her. Jason just shook his head.

"Jason Rees and Will Maine," Jason said. "Were here for the shooting course." The receptionist nodded before typing in a few commands on her and producing a pair of blue plastic wallets with papers before handing one each to the teenagers.

"Here are your welcome packs. Inside you'll find your room keys, timetables and some paperwork you'll need to fill out before class starts tomorrow morning. Just give them into your instructor. I'm afraid you've been asSigned to different initial weapons handling courses that you're both on the same sniper and urban/ mountain course. Any other questions there's a number you can call in the pack. I'll have someone come over to take you to the dorm rooms."

The teenagers thanked the receptionist and sat down and waited for the shuttle vehicle.

"its sucks were not in the same basic course," mumbled Will. Jason shrugged.

"It's not the end of the world," he said. . "We'll still see each other in the mess."

"yeah," pondered Will. "What room you in any way?" Jason looked through his welcome pack.

"Room 204," replied Jason. "You?"

"Room 207," said Will. "Guess we won't even be bunking together." Though he did not publically acknowledge it, Jason felt sorry for whoever ended up sharing a room with Will. Though he did his best, Will had a tendency to become unhinged, even violent at times. It had taken a lot of convincing to get his parents to Sign off on him on the trip, partly on the proviso that Jason kept an eye and a lid on him... good luck with that.

...

Inside of half an hour later, Jason was walking down the hallway of his accommodation block with his kitbag over his shoulder, looking for his room. Eventually, he found it, room 204. He tried the door handle and found it unlocked. He pushed the door inward and found that his roommate was already there.

The room was pretty much a normal twin hotel room with a bed on either side of the room with a cupboard, small desk and chair on either side. Jason's roommate was a heavyset lad of Asian decent with a pair of black thick rim glasses and a large head of black hair that came down past his ears.

"Hi there," said Jason as he threw his kit bag onto the unoccupied bed. He stepped forward and offered him a hand. "Jason Rees."

"Kohta Hirano," said the lad in heavily accented English as he stood up and shook Jason's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

' _Kohta...'_ thought Jason. "Japanese right?"

"That's right," said Kohta as he went back to sorting his belongings neatly into his cupboard. "Judging by your accent... British?"

"You guess correctly," said Jason as he set about unpacking. "Which basic group you in?"

"2," Replied Kohta, Jason nodded and kept the conversation going.

"Cool, same as me. You ever shot before?"

"Only airsoft guns and air rifles at a fair. You?"

"Yeah, I've shot before," said Jason. Kohta looked at him slightly surprised.

"How? I thought the gun laws in Britain were strict like the ones in Japan," he asked.

"Not quite as strict, but still pretty strict," replied Jason. "But I'm a member of the Air Training Corps, or ATC, or air cadets. We're a uniformed youth military organisation, so we have our own semi-auto version of the British army's SA80 rifle series. I've shot that as well as a few other rifles and shotguns."

"Oh..." said Kohta, "That is so cool. I do like the look of the SA80 too."

"Yeah," said Jason. "Thing is, most people think it's crap..." Kohta caught on and cut in.

"Because of the disastrous A1 variants, that suffered from major defects. But the A2 version currently in use..."

"Was remanufactured by Heckler and Koch, making it into one of the most reliable rifles currently available..."

"...To the point where in a recent trial it was put against an M16A4, Steyr AUG, AK-101, and a FAMAS..."

"Where it beat every single one of them in each category except the AK on reliability," finished Jason, he smiled. "Kohta, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

* * *

 _ **-Present day-**_

 **Approx ¼ mile outside Chester safezone  
Z-day +55  
07:00**

Lance Corporal Aber and Private Forty climbed the stairs of the shot tower to where they'd been told Sergeant Rees had been camped out overnight looking for the sniper that the troops had named as 'that bastard.'

As a favour to the Sergeant. Aber had agreed to take on Forty as a sort of apprentice, to teach him the ways of marksmanship/sniping. They arrived in the top room, where they found Sergeant Rees with his rifle pointing out the window, still scanning for targets. The thing that stuck them was the smell.

"Jesus, it smells like piss in here," said Aber. Jason looked away from his scope and looked at her for a moment.

"Yeah well, when you gotta go and all that," said Jason as he took one last look before starting to pack up his kit.

"Any Signs of him?" asked Aber as she and Forty set out some of their kit.

"I saw some movement around Handbridge at about 3am, could have been him but I don't know." Jason slung is rifle over one shoulder and his patrol bag on the other. "Just be careful, he's a damn good sniper and slightly nuts in the head."

"As good as you?" asked Aber with a slight smirk. Both she and Forty paled slightly at his response.

"No. Better."

Jason left the sniper team to do their job while he descended from the shot tower to a waiting pickup that would take him back to Cornwell for some much-needed rest, although he doubted he'd get any. Jason climbed into the passenger seat of the waiting pick up and buckled up."

"Mornin'," said the driver, a man in his mid 20's dressed in fatigues and body armour.

"Hey," said Jason autonomously as he buckled up with his rifle stowed between his legs. He glanced into the back seat and saw that Alex was in the back. She looked particularly unwell and held a brown paper sick bag in her hands.

"Finally going to see the quack then ay?" asked Jason. Since she'd starting being slightly off the previous week, Jason had kept an eye on her. After it hadn't shifted after a week or so, and after the water bottle incident, he'd pressured her to see a doctor, which she stubbornly refused. The scowl she gave him as she held the bag close told him all that he needed to know. The pick up's engine rumbled into life and the vehicle shuddered as the driver shifted it into gear and they departed the shot tower.

After a few minutes of driving through the streets, Jason finally broke the silence.

"You should be wearing your seatbelt," he said to the driver. The driver glanced over at Jason.

"It gets in the way if I need to go for my weapon," he replied, patting at the Glock that sat in a repurposed magazine pouch on his body armour. "Besides. It's not like..."

The glass windshield shattered and the driver bucked before slumping forward. The engine roared as his body slumped forward on the accelerator and the car sped up. Jason grabbed hold of the steering wheel to try and keep the rapidly accelerating car on the road. A brief glance up the road showed Jason an upcoming lamp post.

"HOLD ON!" He shouted back at Alex. The last thing Jason saw before darkness claimed him was the look of horror on her face as the pickup hit the lamp post at high velocity, throwing him forward into the dashboard's exploding airbag.

...

Jason groaned as he came too. His head was pounding and every muscle and bone ached. This was a good Sign; he wasn't dead.

He blinked to clear his hazy vision while pushed down the still partly inflated air bag and tried to sit up slightly. Pain lanced up his side. Cracked ribs, he'd had them many times. His face was bruised and blood smeared his face from his broken nose. But he was alive, which was more than could be said for the driver. His body lay halfway out of the windshield, his severed head was lying on the ground several meters further on.

'Should have worn his seatbelt.' Thought Jason. His rifle was still propped between his legs, its barrel bent and slightly cracked from where Jason's head had glanced off it, rendering it useless. He slowly leaned around, pushing through to pain to check on Alex.

She slumped forward in the backseat, her pale skin was marred with blood and bruises and her head hung in a near unnatural angle. Jason quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and pulled himself into the back seat. He pressed 2 fingers to her neck to check her pulse. It was there, but weak. He needed to get her a medic, soon.

He quickly tried the pick up's radio, but he couldn't even get any static from the damn thing. He first tried to raise command, then Aber and Forty, but all to no avail. He took another look at Alex's unconscious form as he summed up his options: once they were overdue, they may try to raise them on the radio and when that failed they would probably send out a search party to find them.

Jason dismissed this plan almost immediately. Alex needed medical attention ASAP, and there was no way of knowing how long it would take a search party to find them, or if one was actually coming. Furthermore, there was also the issue of the sniper that shot them. Buried in the front of Alex's body armour was the remains of a round, and the driver's seat had a large bloody hole from where it had travelled through the driver, his seat before coming to a stop in Alex's front plate.

'Dumb bastard probably mustn't have had the plates in his armour to save weight.' Thought Jason. That only left option 2; carry Alex the roughly half a mile back to Chester and pray that Will didn't see them. And if anyone tried to stop them because of his exile, god help them.

* * *

 **Chester Hospital  
Chester Safezone**

 **Z-day +55  
09:30**

Jason sat by Alex's bed in silence.

When they'd arrived at the gates, the soldiers on duty didn't stop him getting Alex to the hospital. Upon arrival, they were both immediately seen too, partly due to their sudden arrival and appearance, but also, because no one was dumb enough to argue with a man holding a loaded Sig in one hand and an unconscious girl over his shoulder.

They'd taken them aside and examined them separately. Jason had been more or less right with his original self-assessment; broken nose and 4 cracked ribs from where his rifle had dug into his Kevlar vest. Alex's injuries were more severe, however. She'd suffered cracked ribs and also broken her nose, but also hit her head and had a concussion. The doctor's had taken her aside to run some tests and had only recently returned her to the room where they presently waited on the results.

"I'm sorry Alex," Jason whispered, taking her hand. "I promised Fred I'd look after you... guess it's not going so well," His self-pity was interrupted by the door opening. A doctor in a white lab coat walked in, he closed the door behind him.

"How is she doc?" asked Jason, dreading the response. The Doctor consulted his clipboard

"She has a slight concussion, 2 cracked and bruised ribs where her armour stopped the bullet, a broken nose and 2 broken teeth. Other than that, as far as we can tell she and the baby are fine."

"The baby?!" exclaimed Jason. "She's pregnant?!"

"Yes," replied the doctor, the calmness of his voice hinted that he'd been through this before. "It came up in our blood tests. She's about 3 or 4 weeks along. I assume you're the father?"

Jason looked down at the floor; he knew this wasn't going to end well for anyone.

"No," he replied, "But I know who is. Private Fred Hanson."

"We'll need him to come in and..."

"He's dead," deadpanned Jason. "Bitten about 3 weeks ago. He died leading a heard of infected away so my team and I could escape. He was a good man, and a good friend."

"I see," said the Doctor. He scribbled some notes on his clipboard. "I'll leave you 2 alone while I sort out some paperwork. I'll have some food brought up for you."

"Thank you," said Jason. The doctor left him and Alex alone. He looked at her again and took her hand and let his mind drift.

'So now we're going to have a baby to take care of as well? One that'll grow up without its father... what will life be like for it?'

After a few minutes, the combination of adrenaline wearing off and a night on none stop concentration took its toll, and he drifted into unconsciousness. As he slept, his memory slipped back to his time in the states.

* * *

 _ **-Flashback-**_

 **Blackwater PMC HQ  
North Carolina**

 **Day 6 of the First week of training  
13:00**

Kohta collected his food from the counter at the mess hall and looked around for somewhere to sit. He initially approached one of the metal tables that was closest but diverted when he saw that Will and his new 'friends' were there.

He'd come to the states to learn to shoot and enjoy himself, and Will Maine reminded him slightly too much of a slightly an aggro Shido-sensei for his liking. That and his new found friends reminded him too much of Tsunoda and the rest of the track team, the ones who repeatedly bullied and assaulted Kohta at school. Instead, he sat down at a table by himself and was about to take a bite out of his double bacon cheeseburger when Jason and a few others from their class joined them.

"Room for a few more?" asked Jason as he and the other 2 lads sat down with him. Jason looked down at Kohta's meal. "I see you're still rocking the double bacon cheeseburger there mate."

Kohta shrugged. "When in Rome," he muttered before he took a large bite out of his burger, which was, as Jason judged by his reaction delicious. "Besides, what are you eating?"

"Chicken salad with a steak sandwich," replied Jason. "I'm watching what I eat. When I get back I've got the Royal Marines potential officer's course."

"You're joining the Royal Marines?" asked Kohta. Jason nodded.

"I'm going for a navy university scholarship," he replied. "If you get it, they'll pay towards your uni fees as long as you join up as an officer for a minimum of 4 years afterwards. Although I plan to be in longer than that."

Kohta couldn't help but admire Jason. In many ways, he was what he himself wished he could be. Jason was good looking, athletic, got on with everyone and was a crack shot. Kohta felt that if he could become half the man that Jason was, he would be happy.

"So anyone got a girl back home?" asked one of the lads. "Jason?"

"Nah mate," he replied through a bit of salad. "Single Pringle mate. How about you Kohta?"

"Nope," replied Kohta while taking a drink from his coke.

"So who's Takagi then?" asked Jason with an evil smirk. Kohta spat his coke back out in surprise. How the hell had Jason found out about Takagi?!

"How did you..."

"You talk in your sleep mate," said Jason. "From the sound of it, it was a pretty hot dream. ' _oh Takagi...'"_ Kohta went beet red as the table all gathered in on him. "So who is she?"

"She... She's a girl in my class," stammered Kohta. He hadn't told anyone about his secret crush on Saya Takagi.

"You got a picture?" asked one of the lads. Kohta hesitated before he pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and typed in some commands to produce a class picture on the screen.

"The one with the pink ponytails," said Hirano as he showed the picture to his colleagues. They were impressed.

"Jesus Christ! She is hot!" said one of them.

"I thought the whole pink hair thing was just in anime..." said another.

"Hey mate, she is fit!" said Jason. "You asked her out?"

"No," Replied Kohta, "Someone like her wouldn't go out with someone like me. Besides, she likes Kumoro. The brown haired guy next to the red head girl."Jason frowned.

"Well disregarding that, what do you mean 'someone like her wouldn't go out with someone like me'?" he asked.

"Look at me," said Kohta, gesturing to himself. "I'm the unpopular kid. The otaku. The kid who's been bullied and who's out of breath when he reaches the top floor of the school. Why would any girl want to be seen with me, let alone go out with me?"

"Well," began Jason. "You're a good man Kohta. You just have some fitness and confidence issues, both of which you can do something about if you want."

"How do you know?" asked Kohta, slightly harsher than he'd intended. Jason was unfazed.

"When I was about 7, I was overweight and got the shit beaten out of me on a nearly daily basis at school," he explained. This surprised everyone at the table, from what they'd seen, it was hard to imagine Jason being overweight. Let alone bullying him (they'd all seen him practicing karate katas in some of his free time.)

"Both my parents were in the Royal Navy. My mother was deployed on ship at the time, and my father was aide-to-camp of some Admiral based in Portsmouth. He'd come home on leave but for the rest of the time I stayed with my grandparents and they weren't in a position to do much about the bullies. So I saved up my pocket money and after school, one day took myself to a local karate dojo and asked the Sensei to train me. A few days later, the bullies tried to take my sweet shop money. They found out the hard way that I could kick well above my own head height and that 3 punches to the gut are much more painful than it looks. I owe Sensei a lot, because of him, in 5 years I went from short porky nervous kid to lean mean confident fighting machine."

Jason paused to look Kohta in the eyes.

"Besides, girls our age are always looking for sports stars and the good looking guys. Eventually, they wizen up to the fact that most of them are assholes or totally incompetent outside of their specialist area and dump them, looking for someone more dependable. That is you Kohta. I see you as the dependable, trustworthy that people would want to back them up when the shit hits the fan. As my old CO used to say; 'Best isn't always best. I generally prefer turns up on time and not a twat.'"

Kohta was genuinely touched by Jason's words. Outside of his online otaku group, he had few friends and none were his age. Jason was the first person his own age who knew what he had been through and offered any good advice and encouragement.

"Anyway, we better tuck in," said Jason. "We've got our first range time with the sharpshooters and we don't want to be late."

"Amen to that," agreed Kohta as he resumed his feasting on his burger.

* * *

 _ **-Present day-**_

 **Chester Hospital  
Chester Safezone**

 **Z-day +55  
13:35**

Jason awoke with a start as the door into Alex's room opened. Acting on reflex his hand dropped to his holster and he drew his Sig on the door, ready to blow away the threat.

He blinked away the remainder of the sleep from his eyes and the 'threat' became crystal clear. It was a female nurse carrying a tray of food, one who looked slightly shaken at having a gun pointed at her.

"I'm sorry," said Jason as he lowered and holstered his Sig. "You startled me."

"It's alright," said the nurse as she entered the room and set down the tray of food for him on a nearby table. "I was told that a soldier was in here. I should have knocked before coming in, I know how jumpy you guys get when you spend time out there."

"Out there?" queried Jason. He knew what she was on about, but he was curious how she knew about it.

"Beyond the wall," she said. "I was in the group you guys rescued from Broughton. Everyone from that group would get jumpy after sleeping in out there for a while. How are you feeling by the way?"

"I've been better but I'll be fine," said Jason. He looked back at Alex, she was still out cold, although her chest was slowly rising and falling now with her breathing. "I'm more worried about her."

"Well the anaesthesia we gave her has worn off so she's just resting now. I think she's going to be fine," said the nurse. The sound of footsteps coming down the hall twigged Jason's ear. He turned to the open door to see a Major Marsden appear with a familiar face beside him. Jason's expression changed, as though he'd just tasted bad food.

Mrs. Bell wasn't it? Yeah, that was her, from the trial.

The same Mrs. Bell that had cut field rations to soldiers to the point that they were expected to make a 24 hour ration pack last 4 days, who at every available opportunity had criticized and scolded the military for the way they had done things, who had tried her level best to get Jason executed for doing his job. He couldn't help but wonder if she hadn't interfered with the military's affairs if they would be having a recruiting problem at the moment.

The look on Marsden's face was that he clearly knew this was no time for her to come and speak with Jason, but she had likely insisted. Jason snapped off a salute to Marsden and let his hand fall so that it hovered near his holstered Sig, but not quite on it. His hand's proximity to his weapon went unnoticed by Mrs. Bell, but not by Marsden who remained silent. Mrs. Bell opened her mouth and spoke;

"Sergeant Rees. I am Mrs. Karen Bell..."

"I know who you are," interrupted Jason, unable to keep the hostility out of his voice. "You're the one who tried to have me executed for doing my job."

Mrs. Bell scoffed, she was not used to being spoken to like that by anyone, let alone a teenager.

"Yes well, it has since come to light that those 3 boys were playing a practical joke and the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding. I will be having your exile revoked forthwith."

"Very kind of you," replied Jason, generally grateful for that but he was still weary. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well," Mrs. Bell seemed extremely uncomfortable as if she had just been cornered and what she was about to say would piss Jason off extremely. "I wanted to apologise to you... and..."

"I believe you wanted to question Jason about why Sergeant Rees took it upon himself to bring back a group of survivors who were in need of medical care that would use up vital medical resources without asking permission first," said Marsden as if he were just dropping a helpful reminder. "By the way Sergeant, I agree with your decision."

Mrs. Bell looked at Marsden with venom in her eyes. Marsden just stood there and shrugged. She drew herself up in her immaculate 2 piece blue business suit. It didn't escape her notice that a small group of patients and nurses were listening on their conversation.

"Yes. I was going to ask you about that," she said. "You have done a good job securing vital supplies for the city, and training soldiers to fight beyond the wall. I am not denying that. However, and let me be frank Sergeant. There are not enough supplies to go around, and I feel that the military should submit to the rule of the council when it comes to matters of bringing in more people who will use more of our supplies..."

"You mean your supplies," said Jason, his fists clenched tight as his frustration mounted.

"Yes, they're ours," she said loudly, almost shouting. "We've paid for them with our blood. I speak for everyone when we say..."

"Shut it," said Jason. His voice was barely above a whisper. Mrs. Bell looked like she'd just been slapped.

"W... What did you say?" she demanded. Jason looked her in the eye, with fury in his that made her pale.

"I said, SHUT IT!" he shouted. She recoiled slightly. He continued to glare at her.

"You have no right to say that you have bled for anything. I doubt you've even lifted a finger against the infected, let alone gone out there and fought, bled and risked your life for a crate of soup, a deer carcass, or bottles of water. Do you even know how many soldiers have died out there? Do you even care? I do. I knew their faces, I knew their names. Nathan, Caroline, Fred. _They_ bled for those supplies. _They_ died for those supplies. Don't you _dare_ say you've done anything to earn them."

"Be that as it may," snarled back Mrs. Bell. "The dead cannot give out supplies. So it is _my_ job to divide up what we have. More people mean more stringent rationing. Ergo, we must limit ourselves to only bringing in people who can be useful..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," interrupted Jason. "Forgive me if I didn't stop to ask a bunch of people, mainly women and children who were starving, dying of thirst and on the verge of death what their credentials were before giving them aid! Next time I'll bare that in mind, Ma'am! Now if you are quite finished, I have better things to do than listen to _you_ bitch about how _I_ should do _my_ job!"

Mrs. Bell was about to reply when she saw that Jason's right hand was resting on the butt of his sidearm. She glared at Jason as she stuck her nose up at him and flounced out of the room. Jason simply retook his seat by Alex's bed and held her hand.

"You weren't wrong Sergeant," said Marsden. "But neither was she. You could have been more tactful."

"I know she's right sir," said Jason. "We don't have the supplies to take in everyone we find. But I'm not going to let people die if I have a choice. And I will be damned if I let her take credit for the produce of our soldiers sacrifice."

Marsden nodded, "You have a good heart Sergeant. That's the reason she hates you." Jason looked t Marsden, slightly confused. He explained.

"As much as she would hate to admit it, Mrs. Bell needs the military, needs soldiers like you and me. But soldiers will never follow her because she will never lead them anywhere. That's the reason she needs the likes of you. She, and to an extent I, are bosses; we order things to be done. You're a leader. We say 'go and do'; you say 'follow me.' Mrs. Bell wants leaders like you under her thumb, to follow her orders. Something that you will never do, because you have a good heart."

"I understand sir," replied Jason, he looked back to Alex, who was still sleeping despite the commotion. "I do have a request though sir. I want Alex reassigned back to Chester. A forward patrol base is no place for a pregnant woman."

"I'll see that it gets done," said Marsden. "I'll also see to it that you get a rack in the barracks to get some proper sleep."

"Thank you sir, but I'm fine," said Jason. Marsden gave him the 'CO stare'.

"Sergeant I'm ordering you to get a hot meal and at least 6 hours bed rest before you go back to searching for Mr. Maine."

Jason looked flabbergasted, "Sir in 6 hours he could kill dozens of people."

"5 then," relented Marsden. "And that's an order Sergeant. Or I'll have the doctors sedate you."

Jason was going to protest, but relented, he knew better than to argue with Marsden over orders that were for his own benefit. Marsden departed, and after ensuring that an orderly would come and notify him when she awoke departed for the barracks via the armoury and mess hall. With a belly half full of warm grub and an alarm set on his watch, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **-Flashback-**_

 **Blackwater PMC HQ  
North Carolina**

 **Day 6 of the First week of training  
20:00**

Jason sat in his bunk, cleaning each individual part of his HK MR308. He's spent the afternoon shooting the rifle on a 600-meter range to get used to it. The day had ended with a shoot off between the 3 top shooters from each class taking part. Jason with his MR308, Will with his sniper variant G3 and Hirano with an AR-10 as well as 3 other shooters. The range was 600 meters, and the target was a pistol competition target, 5 rounds each. Jason had placed in 3rd with a 5-inch grouping. Will came 2nd with a 4.5-inch grouping. But Kohta got 1st with an astonishing 2-inch grouping.

Jason and the other shooters congratulated Kohta on his result, except Will. Will had got into a fuss over the result and had been in a funk since. Jason hadn't seen him since he saw him cleaning his G3 in the rec room. He decided he was going to talk to him about it, just to make sure he didn't do anything untoward.

He continued cleaning his rifle in silence until the door opened. He looked up, expecting to see a happy Kohta, still basking in the glory of his victory, and rightly so in Jason's opinion. Instead, he was horrified to see a depressed Kohta walk in, sporting a black eye. Aside from that he also looked like he'd been roughed up and was wobbly on his feet.

"Dude! What happened?" asked Jason. Setting down his rifle parts and helping his friend over to his bed.

"Nothing," said Kohta dismissively. "I fell over." Jason dismissed this, he knew the Signs that someone had been in a fight, he'd both administered and received them enough times.

"Bollocks mate!" snapped Jason. "Who did this to you?" Though Jason already knew who'd probably done this. Kohta Sighed, and then winced sharply, a clear Sign of rib damage.

"Will and his buddies," relented Kohta. Jason was furious. Will had always been quick to anger, but he'd never gone this far before. He was just building up to go and deal with him when Kohta spoke up.

"Don't bother yourself," he said. "This sort of thing happens to me all the time. It's nothing I can't cope with. "

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have too!" replied Jason. "We need to tell the instructors."

"No point no one saw it," said Kohta glumly. "They jumped me behind the cafeteria, took some pictures then moved on."

Jason was really fuming now. No one and he meant no one, got away with bullying any of his friends. He formed a plan of revenge immediately. Will needed to face the music, and Jason knew just what to do.

"I'll be right back," he said. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and left the dorm room. He headed down the corridor to Will's room. He took a deep breath to compose himself, he needed to be convincing if he was going to pull this off. He knocked on the door.

"Come in," came a voice from inside. Jason opened the door and walked in. Gathered in the middle of the floor around a game of cards against humanity were Will and his 4 friends, all of whom were American and built like tanks.

"Hey, Jay," greeted Will. "Care to join us?"

"Sure," said Jason, acting that everything was normal. The room was almost identical to his and Kohta's, although there's did not stink of weed unlike this one did.

"Hirano just came back," said Jason. "Looked like he got the crap beaten out of him. Guessing that was your handy work?"

"You got a problem with that?" asked one of the larger Americans. Jason held up his hands.

"Hell no," he replied, "I'm tellin' ya, the fat fuck deserved it, the man snores like a sailor and stinks out the bathroom like I don't know what."

"I know right?" said Will, " The little shit had the nerve to beat me at shooting. He had it coming."

"You get any pics?" asked Jason as he looked through the cards that he was dealt.

"Heck yeah," said one of the Americans. "Little piggy squealed when we jumped him. Had to have something to document the occasion?"

"Can I see?" asked Jason. Will nodded before tossing him his phone. "Code's 8864. Just go under photo's and they're at the end."

Jason took the phone; clandestinely making sure it was set to silent before entering the code. Sure enough, there were several photos of the 4 Americans and Will, standing over a beaten Kohta. The pictures made him sick, but he buried it. Vengeance would come. While he looked through them, he copied them to a text message and sent it to his own phone. Once they were sent, he erased all evidence of the transaction and returned the phone.

"Mighty fine work there guys," he said, masking his disgust. He played a few more rounds of cards against humanity before excusing himself on the basis of going for a shower before bed. He left the room and retreated back to his own. He checked his phone to ensure he had the evidence he needed, once he was sure, he went into the room to find a sobbing Kohta on the bed.

"I've got the pictures," he said, holding the phone up. "Let's nail the bastards."

The 2 friends couldn't get to the instructor's office fast enough.

* * *

 _ **-Present day-**_

 **15 miles outside Chester safezone**

Z-day +55  
16:00

Will returned to the depot basking in the glow of victory. He'd seen the car carrying Jason Rees and shot the car, causing it to crash. He'd killed Jason Rees, precisely as he'd been told to by his boss... Well, he hadn't confirmed the kill. He couldn't have, there were infected between him and Jason and the car crashed out of his line of Sight so he couldn't shoot him. But he was confident that Jason had not survived.

In the depot, men were working on vehicles, welding plate metal to their frames over the windows to give them some semblance of armour. He headed to the office, where his boss was waiting. 'Boss' was a large brute of a man who had been a senior lieutenant to a local gang boss, until the comically named 1st Chester militia company had rolled over their base in Broughton. Since then they'd been preparing for a retaliation strike, and with Jason out of the way, they were ready.

"Did you get him?" asked Boss, looking Will over as he entered the office. Will nodded. Boss laughed heartily. "Excellent. Then we strike tonight, and take what is ours."

* * *

 **So yeah... shit just got real, and it's gonna get even more real next chapter :D**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter, no idea when 17 is going to be out, probably sometime next week or the week after.  
**

 **Anyway, here's a question for you guys... more Kohta flashbacks or no? Let me know**

 **Have a good one**

 **Please review/ favourite/ follow**

 **Jango**


	17. Chapter 17

**Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak**

 **Chapter 17: Beside the dying fire**

 **Chester safezone  
North Gate**

 **Z-day +55  
22:00**

Private O'Donnell yawned for what seemed like the 4th time in 5 minutes while Private Parker took another look around beyond the wall with the night vision scope.

"Well, this is shit," said O'Donnell. He and Parker had been busted by the first class A-hole known as Sergeant Owens for being late for parade. As their punishment, they'd been assigned night duty on the north gate for the next 2 weeks.

"Smoke?" asked Parker, pulling a packet of cigarettes from his fatigues and offering one to O'Donnell. He took the cigarette and was about to light it up when a thought crossed his mind.

"Not worried about that sniper?" He asked Parker who was midway lighting up his own ciggie.

"Nah," He replied, "Only shoots during the day. Beside's nothing out there. I checked NV's and thermal."

"Alright then," Said O'Donnell as he lit up his own cigarette. The warmth from the fag was welcome in the cool darkness of the night.

"So you go see those ladies down on Fillmore street?" asked Parker. O'Donnell smiled.

"Oh yeah," he replied smugly. "Them ladies were bang tidy. Well worth a tin of beans."

"You go for the full package?"

"Catflap and back door mate."

"Fuckin' A lad! Fuckin' A!" The 2 soldiers laughed together until Parker stopped.

"Do you hear that?" he asked. O'Donnell stopped laughing and listened. In the distance, they could hear the rumble of vehicles, as well as something clattering and squeaking with it.

"There aren't any overdue patrols or runs are there?" asked O'Donnell, looking slightly concerned at his friend.

"Not that I know of," said Parker. The 2 soldiers hurriedly extinguished their cigarettes. Parker went for the radio while O'Donnell grabbed the GPMG, cocking the machinegun's slide and training the 7.62 machine gun down the road.

What came thundering down the road both surprised, and terrified him. A large, boxy, dark green vehicle thundered towards them with 3 white vans behind it.

"TANK!" he shouted right before he opened fire with the GPMG. The 7.62 rounds peppered and bounced off its armoured hull and turret. O'Donnell watched in horror, there was nothing he could do to stop what came next.

The tank crashed through the gate like a car would a weakened wooden fence. It slowed to a stop as the 3 vans passed it and drove further into town. The tank's turret began to turn.

"Sound the alarm! Sound the..." shouted O'Donnell as he looked at the tank's gun in horror. The last thing he saw was a flash from its gun, his body was pulverised a moment later by the high explosive shell.

* * *

 **Ops room  
Chester Castle**

Jason looked up from his map when heard them, 3 quick explosions.

'The fuck was that?' he thought. Then he heard the sirens. Early on in the outbreak, they had installed a world war 2 air raid siren at each of the gates, to be sounded in the event of a breach. The drill was that if the sirens sounded, all civilians locked themselves inside anywhere they could and the military was authorised to expend any and all resources necessary to fill the breach and secure the city. But many people wondered about the military's ability to respond in the event of a breach...

And looking around the ops room, where people stood frozen at their stations, their worst nightmares were coming true.

"STAND TOO!" shouted Marsden as he entered the room. "Initiate contingency plan Alpha! Someone gets me a status report on the breach site."

"YES SIR!" shouted the room. Jason was out the door and raced for his bunk to grab his kit. He had to sidestep soldiers in the hallways who were in varying stages of readiness for combat. Jason knew that only a few soldiers had as much combat experience as he did, and quite a few were still in training. He burst into his room and started gearing up.

As he pulled on his body armour he heard 2 more explosions. Jason tried to work out what the hell was causing it as he finished buckling up the clips on his armour and loading his L85.

'Too slow and loud to be a fifty cal.' He thought, 'maybe a grenade launcher?' If it was or something like it, whoever was firing them off was a real maniac. He quickly double checked his gear to make sure it was all A-ok, before heading out the door and back towards the ops room.

* * *

 **Akio  
patrol base Cornwell**

"Corporal Long!"

Akio looked up from her dinner and paperwork to see an out of breath and outright panicked looking Private from 3 Section.

"Corporal... Radio call... Chester...Attack..."

"Calm down Private," said Akio. "Deep breaths, then tell me." The private took a few deep breaths before trying to relay his message for the second time.

"Command put out a radio call on all channels. Chester is under attack and the north gate has been breached."

"Infected or marauders?" asked Akio as she rose to her feet.

"Both," replied the Private. Akio froze for a moment, Jason and Alex were in Chester along with nearly 2000 civilians, and only about 120 soldiers, mostly recruit and support staff, most of the actual fighters were deployed at the patrol bases. If the gates were also breached, the sounds of fighting would bring more infected to the city. The only way they were going to stop this was if they plugged the breach in the wall, and kill as hostiles within.

"Listen in!" Akio shouted, getting the full attention of the group of soldiers that had overheard the private's report. "I want 1 and 2 sections geared up and ready for deployment! Full battle order! Break out the Minimi's! NCO's report to me, wheels rolling in 10 minutes! LET'S FUCKING MOVE PEOPLE!"

* * *

 **Jason**

 **Chester Safezone  
Chester Castle**

 **22:07**

Sergeant Rees returned to the organized chaos that was the ops room. The room was filled with uniformed 'brasskissers' who were running around. Some were talking into radios, giving orders and receiving reports from those on the other end. Others were trying to frantically sort other things that Jason was sure were important. In the centre was Marsden.

"Someone get me a status report," ordered Marsden, despite the desperateness of the situation, he was calmed and composed.

"Sir," said one brasskisser, "Fireteam Vector has been engaged near the cross. They've lost their IC and 2IC and are panicking, something about a tank and infected in the city."

"Anything from Sale and Owens?" asked Marsden. Jason noticed that there was a suspicious absence of senior level NCO's. He surmised they were either engaged or organising the defence but if they were missing, they could well be dead.

"They were at a meeting in town hall sir," called someone. "The enemy just stormed it."

If the marauders had just stormed the town hall and all the other senior city council members were unaccounted for, that made Marsden acting leader of the safe zone. However, Marsden was in his mid 60's, and no longer the jerry combat rupert he had been with the RAF regiment in his younger years.

"Sir!" called another Brasskisser. "The police guarding the town hall just got overrun. Marauders are in. Team Vector is still taking heavy fire from that tank. We've also got reports of infected inside the perimeter. "

"At the Northgate?"

"No. Bedward road!"

"Shit. Right," said Marsden, sighting Rees standing by and waiting for orders. "Sergeant! Get out there, take command of Vector and find out what the fuck is going on with that tank. Kill it if you can. Someone get a fireteam down to Bedward and ice those infected."

"Yes, sir!" Jason replied as he raced out the door and into the darkened streets.

* * *

 **Sale**

 **Chester Town hall**

Staff Sergeant Sale sat against the wall of one of the offices of the town hall, cramped against between an office worker and a filing cabinet. As others around him whimpered and cowered, he sized up the situation.

There was an armed guard by the door, clutching an MP5 submachine gun and wearing police issue armour set. He assumed the rest of them were searching the place for whatever they were after. They'd taken Sale's sidearm after he'd been forced to surrender, on order of Mayor Reva. He'd then been forced into a store room with the other survivors of the assault, their hands and feet had been bound with duct tape. So far, clandestine attempts to find something sharp to cut through the tape had proven fruitless.

Across from him, Sergeant Owens did nothing, just sitting there dejected. Sale was about to attempt to get some life out of the other man when the door to the office was thrown open. Sale could see that the hall outside was full of figures milling about in the doorway. One figure entered the room, he had scrawny black hair. He wore a shoulder holster with a Glock 17 holstered within. He had a look in his eye that told Sale he was both annoyed, and crazy.

"Who's in charge here?" he asked.

His voice was not dissimilar in tone to Sale's own, except he was letting anger seep into his voice and dominate his actions. No one answered him so he asked again, only louder and more angrily.

"I said! Who's in charge here?!"

"I am," said Sale. If he started laying into one of the civilians, he'd get whatever he wanted pretty quickly. With Sale, he might be able to stall him until reinforcements arrived, or at least buy them a little more time. The man walked up to Sale and looked him over. Then he spread his arms out and laughed.

"Well, why the fuck didn't you say so?"

His voice was strangely melodic, but still very much off, slightly unhinged. Sale could smell the remnants of alcohol on the man, and see grime and blood in the man's 5 O'clock shadow. He, in turn, looked sale over, taking note of his camouflage fatigues and the rank slides they bore.

"So what's your name?" he asked.

"Staff Sergeant Sale. First Chester Militia Company . Serial number 25346201." The man regarded Sale for a moment before glancing at the guard and laughing.

"First Chester militia company," he joked, "I didn't fuckin believe the doc when he told us but... fuckin 'ell! Can you believe this shit?"

"Fuckin' bonkers boss," replied the guard.

"Well then Sarge," Boss said with a grandiose voice. "You're going to give me what I want."

"Go fuck yourself."

Boss lost his grin then punched Sale in the face, knocking his head back into the wall behind him. Sale tasted blood in his mouth and spat out the remnants of a broken tooth.

"You see Sarge," said Boss, "You guys been takin' what don't rightfully belong to ya. So we're here for..." he considered his words. "Compensation."

"Dunno what you're on about mate," said Sale. He wasn't bluffing or stalling. He genuinely had no idea what this guy was on about. They hadn't taken anything from any group.

"Really? The food warehouse in Waverton? The TA base at Elsmere port? The car garage at Cheshire Oaks? The Broughton Safezone? You've been taking supplies that don't rightfully belong to you."

"And I'm guessing you think you're the rightful owner?" insinuated Sale. This guy was more deluded than he thought.

"Now you're getting it," Replied Boss, he knelt down so he was eye to eye with Sale. "So now here's what you're going to do. You're going to call off your troops, then going to tell me where all your weapons, ammo, medical supplies and food are. Then were going to take whoever and whatever else we want?"

"I'm not telling you shit," replied Sale. Boss looked at him for a moment, before standing and sighing.

"You know," he said as he drew his Glock and levelled it at Sale's head. "I believe you."

The last thing Sale saw was the muzzle flash of Boss' Glock. The slumped back against the wall, redecorated in his brain matter.

Boss looked at Sale's body once more, before turning to the second camouflaged figure sitting in the room corner silently.

"So who's next then?"

* * *

 **Jason**

Jason sprinted down the rows with a fucking purpose.

He'd been listening to the battle through his radio set and it was not going well. The vast majority of their fireteams were busy trying to get civvies secure in safe areas, lock down storehouses or were occupied defending the hospital and military HQ. There had been no word from the police who were supposed to be securing the civvies and supplies so that the military could focus on plugging the breach and defending the city. As a result of their inactivity, the more experienced soldiers were stuck on defence duties, leaving the trainees to fight...

... and dying like flies.

3 more explosions went off around the corner, accompanied by the rumble of a large engine. That was the source of their problems, the attackers brought a tank and vans loaded with infected, sewing panic and terror.

' _It's firing too fast to be a Challenger, but it's too slow to be a .50 cal. Maybe a Scimitar..."_ pondered Jason as he rounded the corner, then he caught a glimpse of it. It was a large, boxy, Dark green vehicle on tracks with a squat turret and short, thin Autocannon.

' _Warrior.'_ Though Jason. The warrior was the standard infantry fighting vehicle of the British armour and had distinguished itself over its 30 years of service with the army. It's 30mm RADEN auto cannon was capable of chewing up light skin vehicles and infantry alike. This one, in particular, was busying itself with firing bursts of cannon fire into buildings and into anyone who fired on it. Following closely were a group of armed people on foot, like small fish following a shark.

Jason saw 2 figures dressed in MTP fatigues, crouching in the doorway of a store back from the row's viewing gallery and thus out of the warrior's sight. One of them saw Jason spiriting towards them and spun his rifle to him.

"Stop!" he snarled quietly. He looked Jason over. "Who are you?"

"Sergeant Jason Rees. Said Jason as he dropped to a knee by the private. "You guys Fireteam Vector?"

"Yeah, that's us," replied the other private. "Or what's left of us..."

"Better get inside Sergeant," said the first one, "Not safe out here."

The private turned to the door and knocked 3 times in a coded fashion, then the door opened and the 3 were ushered inside by another private.

The building had once been a bookstore, but as well as books now housed several civilians as well as a handful of soldiers. They all looked terrified, broken and defeated. Jason looked amongst the soldiers.

"Who's in command here?" he asked. The rookies of fireteam vector looked up at him with weary eyes.

"The boss is dead," said One darkly, "The 2IC is dead. No one's in command."

"Guess that means I'm it," said Jason. He stopped to think about the situation. Aim: Seal the gate and eliminate/ capture hostiles within the perimeter. Can't do that with the Warrior still in play. Solvable, blow the Warrior to fuckington come.

"Right, check weapons and ammo. I need 2 volunteers."

"You're not sending us back out there?!" exclaimed one of them. "They have a fucking tank!"

"It's an armoured personnel carrier actually," said Jason as he checked his L85 again.

"What fucking difference does that make?" exclaimed the Private. Jason shot him a whirly look.

"It means we can kill it Private," he said. The section gathered in around him. He looked around them as they looked at him expectantly. He pointed at one of them, his name tag read Gordons."Right. You run back to the armoury and get your hands on as many LAW's as you can and as many soldiers as you can. The rest of you with me, we're going to distract and engage the dismounted hostiles and the Warrior."

"Are you nuts?!" called a voice from behind. Jason looked over and saw an elderly woman in hysterics. "You can't order them to go and Fight! They could be killed! Stay here where it's safe!"

"Ma'am," said Jason turning his attention to her. "I would not ask them to do anything I would not do myself. But consider this, every moment we spend here soldiers are dying like flies holding back the infected that are getting in. By the time, this is over we may well require more graves than there will be people left to dig them. You are right, though; we could stay here and hide, but make no mistake, either the infected _will_ find us and kill us, or those marauders will." He looked back to the soldiers.

"I will not sit idly by while others fight our battles for us. That said if anyone wants to stay here, do so with my blessing. Everyone else, let's go."

Jason simply stood up and walked towards and out the door. After a moment of looking among themselves, the remains of fireteam Vector got up and followed him.

They found him lying prone on the viewing gallery of the rows, just back from the edge and looking down into the street. The Warrior was on the street below. It had turned around, no doubt because after the crew had found that it wouldn't fit through the narrow back streets of the city. The thugs had stopped to loot a supply warehouse they'd gotten into while the Warrior turned round. Jason formulated a plan.

"Alright, tactical spacing, 10 meters apart, we lay down fire into that building when they start to come out. Fire off a few rounds then move like you've got a fucking purpose. That cannon will tear us to shreds. Let's move."

Vector spread out along the rows, taking up positions where they could shoot into the warehouse. Below them the Warrior finished turning and continued down the road, its headlights lighting up the otherwise darkened street. Jason leant in behind his rifle, settled on its grip pod, he kept one hand on the trigger while he clicked his radio with the other.

"All fireteam Vector Call signs, fire on my fire. Juliet Romeo Out."

Jason clicked the radio off, watched and waited, switching his L85 to semi-automatic and staring down its rail mounted Elcan lightweight Day sight (LDS). Despite being designed for daytime combat, the red chevron glowed as clear as day, hovering over the busted in warehouse door. The Warrior continued back up the road... then stopped in front of the warehouse.

Jason figured what was coming, he flipped off the safety. A man appeared out of the darkness of the warehouse, a large bag or rice over his shoulder. Jason settled the sight on the man's chest, breathed out and fired. The man went down, his buddies started to appear and panic as the rest of Vector started putting rounds into the doorway. As they did, the Warrior's turret started to turn towards them.

"FUCKING MOVE!" shouted Jason as he sprang up and grabbed his rifle. He just made it out of the way as a shop he'd been in front of exploded. He picked himself up and moved behind a pillar, going prone around it so he could fire at the dismounted men while in cover from their now sporadic return fire.

He fired twice, another went down, and Jason ducked back into cover. The voice of his urban combat instructor at Blackwater echoed in his head _'Shoot and Scoot. Don't let them figure out where the shot came from by firing from the same spot. That's how you stay alive.'_

'It won't be worth a damn if we can't kill that Warrior, though.' Thought Jason. The 2 soldiers he'd sent to get LAW's and reinforcements weren't back yet, and they needed this thing dropped yesterday. Jason then had an idea.

' _Dropped! That's it!'_ He turned his radio into the correct channel. "Hello Mortar Team Frost, this is Juliet Romeo. Request fire support, AP, 10 metres north of my position. Half way down Eastgate street. Mortar team Frost Acknowledge."

" _This is Frost. Negative Juliet Romeo. Danger of collateral damage. Standing orders state no fire missions within the walls. Out."_

"Useless fucking wankers!" swore Jason as he put his radio back onto Vector's channel. "Guess we're gonna have to wait for the LAWs."

* * *

 **Akio**

 **Approaching Chester Safezone Northgate  
22:17**

Akio held as her Land Rover swerved around another infected and accelerated on. Driving with her were 1 and 2 sections, fully armoured and armed to the teeth. From what she'd picked up, The Northgate had been destroyed and the police and military were too tied down engaging the enemy and securing civilians to seal the gate. So Akio intended to roll up with her 2 Land Rovers and use them to block the gate until they could get something more solid in place.

"30 seconds out," said the driver. Akio nodded and relayed the instruction back to the troops in the back and the following land rover. Magazines were inserted, actions cycled and final battle rituals conducted. The top hatch of each Snatch opened and a gunner carrying a Minimi appeared. While it was a ferocious waste of ammo when used against infected, the L110 FN Minimi light machine gun was spectacular when it came to suppressive fire for use against thinking opponents, that and the gunners loved their affectionately dubbed 'confetti makers'.

The Snatches turned the final corner and came onto the road that led to the North gate, there were dozen's of infected in their path and the road was too narrow to dodge.

"Brace!" called Akio as the driver hit the throttle. The troops tightened their hold on the retaining straps that kept them in their crash seats as the Snatches shuddered as the knocked them aside and bounced as they ran them over. Akio watched as the gate grew larger through the bloodied windscreen.

"Make ready!" she called. The 2 Snatches screeched to a halt as they passed under the gate. The troops unbuckled themselves and made ready to exit. "Standby... GO!" The doors flung open and Banshee platoon entered the fray.

Johnny came out first, striking an infected out of the way with the pommel of his bastard sword as he drew it, before finishing it off with a brutal slash. In his wake 1 section followed,L85's raised and targeting, each rifleman fanning out into a semi-circle around the vehicles as they fired into the infected to the rear. Meanwhile Akio and Corporal Note, who had been riding in the passenger seat of 2 section's Land Rover, set about the infected to the front with assistance from the Minimi gunners on top cover.

Within minutes, the area was littered with infected corpses, laying in varying stages of devastation, dismemberment and decapitation. But as ever, more infected were coming.

"Get those Land Rovers in place," ordered Akio, her shotgun's muzzle still smoking from repeated use. "One section, get on the wall and cover the far side. Aber and Forty get up there in sniper positions. 2 Section, put out a radio call to say we've got the gate secured and cover the interior from the ground. ROE, if it's dead, kill it. If it's living and poses a threat, fire at will."

"YES, CORPORAL!" resounded the 2 sections as they scurried to their tasks and positions. As they did, a single shot rang out from the darkness, everyone ducked and jumped into cover.

"Did anyone see where that came from?" called Akio.

"Yeah," called down one of the gunners, he fired off a quick burst of fire from his Minimi. "Think I got him, can't be sure, though."

"Good work private," said Akio, "Right, everyone heads down, eyes on and give 'em hell!"

* * *

 **Owens**

Sergeant Owens sat quietly in the van where he'd been placed by 'boss'. After watching Sale executed for resisting, when Boss had turned to Owens, he offered no resistance and told them what they wanted to know, the locations of all the closest storehouses, and nearest citizen shelters.

Boss had congratulated him on his intelligence for complying, before hauling him to his feet and taking out with him to a waiting van. After telling him everything he wanted to know, Boss had put him in the passenger seat of a waiting white van, guarded by a chain-smoking guard. A braver man may well have tried to relieve the guard of his weapon and try to fight back, but despite his big, booming attitude that he'd cultivated to intimidate dewy-eyed recruits, he was, deep down, a coward.

He was just trying to survive. And survival, sometimes, meant bowing down to someone else.

The van rocked as someone slammed the back door shut. A man dressed in a pair of jeans and a leather jacket appeared at the window, with an L85 rifle slung over his shoulder.

"That's the last of 'em," said the man, "Boss said to get out of here. Let the dead meat deal with the rest."

"You got it," said Owens's guard. He threw the butt of his current cigarette out the window and started the van. "What about the tank?"

"They're gonna chew 'em up a bit more and follow," the marauder laughed. "Let's go." The guard chuckled a bit before releasing the hand break and starting the van forward. The city streets were filled with infected, making Owens happy that the doors were locked . In the background, the sounds of battle raged on, gunfire, explosions, and the ever present moan of the infected. The guard remained silent as he drove the van onwards through the back streets, until they turned onto the street leading to the north gate, and he slammed on the breaks, causing Owens's to lurch forward in his seat.

"The fuck?" swore the driver. A moment later a single round shattered the windscreen and shattered his chest, spraying blood over the van's cockpit and over Owens. A moment later, a firefight started around him. Owens balled forward in fear, his head between his legs, whimpering and crying as bullets and shotgun rounds went off around him. After a moment, the firing stopped, slowly he lifted his head up.

Before he could react, his passenger door was thrown open and he was thrown face first to the ground by a figure clad in black. He could taste blood and gravel in his mouth and groaned as he rolled over and found himself looking at the business end of a sword held by a man in a black trench coat, accompanied by 2 soldiers in MTP with L85's trained on him.

"Akio, what about this one?" asked the man in black. Owens was relieved when he saw Corporal Long appear from behind the sword wielder. He ignored her disdainful look and started issuing orders as he got to his feet.

"Excellent. Corporal Long, I order you and your men to escort me back to..."

"Cuff him and thrown him in Snatch 2," ordered Akio. "If he tries to run, shoot him."

Owens spluttered as the 2 MTP clad soldiers grabbed him, one forcing him to his knees while the other bound his hands behind his back with a roll of duck tape.

"What?! Unhand me! Corporal Long! I am your commanding officer!"

"You are a traitor!" replied Long spitefully. "You were found riding willingly in an enemy vehicle loaded with our supplies which they stole. Be happy I don't give Forty the order to shoot you on the spot, like he did the driver."

"I was their prisoner!" snarled Owens as he was roughly pulled to his feet and taken towards Snatch 2. "I will see you shot for this! All of you!"

"Gag him," ordered Akio as she turned away from Owens to deal with more pressing matters. "He's a waste breath anyway."

Akio raised her shotgun on another approaching group of infected. She and a few others opened fire on them, but as she did, she couldn't help but worry about Alex and Jason.

"Jay's a hard bastard," said Johnny, as if he knew what she was thinking. "He'll be fine. And Alex is probably buttoned up inside the hospital."

"Probably," replied Akio as she blasted off the head off another infected before switching to her machete. Suddenly a quick series of loud explosion went off down the road, the infected halted their advance towards the gate's defenders and turned around, ambling back to investigate the new source of noise. There was no doubt that Jason was somehow responsible.

' _He's probably having a field day huh?'_ though Akio as she brought down her machete on another infected.

* * *

 **Jason**

Jason ducked back into cover as another shop exploded from the Warrior's cannon fire. He landed behind a pillar with a Private Green.

"This isn't going well," said Green. Jason was inclined to agree. He'd heard 2 Section's radio call earlier saying that they had blocked the gate, but the warrior was still chewing up the streets, along with his men.

"Well, we just need to hang on till those LAW's get here," he encouraged, swapping his rifle's empty mag for a fresh one, only to find it was his last one.

"Shit. Last mag," he said. He turned to Green. "How about you?"

Green had a quick dig through his magazine pouches before producing a full PMAG. "I've got one and a half left." He proffered the full one to Jason. "You can use it better than I can."

Jason reached out to take the mag when the shop close to Green exploded outwards. Jason was thrown by the blast and landed on his face a few meters away. He groaned as he picked himself up.

"Green? You ok?" he called. There was no answer. Jason looked back. Green lay against the pillar he'd been behind, a foot long piece of wood impaled through his head. Jason shook his head, he'd lost another one. Jason picked through Green's pouches, looting anything that he could use. He hated looting his dead comrade's body, but to refuse Green's gift of extra ammo would be to dishonour his fallen comrade.

In the street below, the Warrior turned its weapons on the infected that had started to arrive, chewing them up with its coax.

"Sergeant Rees!" called a voice. Jason looked down the Row's and saw the 2 Privates he'd sent to get LAWs, accompanied by a section of infantry, between them they carried half a dozen LAWs.

"We came as fast as we could," said Gordons as the infantry took cover where ever they could. "Got 6 LAWs. Should be enough."

"That all the reinforcements you could get?" asked Jason, exasperated at their only being 8 of them. Gordons shook his head.

"Fireteam Gecko. Everyone else is tied down defending HQ, the Armoury and the Hospital, especially the Armoury. Civvies are panicked and are demanding we shelter them and give them weapons. A few have even tried to leave the city."

"Can't say I blame 'em," said Jason, in the same situation he'd try to get his hands on a weapon as well, but still... "How many troops are tied down?"

"Probably about 80 or so plus a few police," replied Gordons. "And they're stretched thin."

This made Jason's blood boil. The reason that this whole thing wasn't over was that too many soldiers were being pinned down with babysitting duties that the police should be doing. Jason growled and let it go.

"Right, let's kill this thing," He said. "Fireteam Gecko. Fan out and ready the LAW's. Aim for just below the turret, that's where the ammo is."

Gecko fanned out down the rows taking up position. Jason accepted a LAW from Gordons and hefted the launcher to his shoulder, setting the sights on the Warrior's turret. He checked that his back flash was clear before settling his aim.

' _Goodbye, you son of a bitch'_ He thought as he squeezed the trigger. The 94mm rocket shot out of the tube on a rod of fire, darting towards the APC. Along the line, 4 other rockets fired, their burn of their rockets roaring loudly as they went towards their target. The Warrior shook as it took 4 hits, with one rocket missing its mark and exploding in a nearby building. The Warrior started to burn, its engine exploded and the smoke started pouring from its vents. The commander's hatch opened, fire erupted from the open hatch as a burning figure started to climb out.

The soldiers watched as the burning man fell out of the warrior screaming. He fell off the turret, landing on the top of the troop compartment before rolling off and landing on the floor. He was still burning and screaming his head off. Jason dropped the launcher and raised his L85. He held the man in his sights for a moment, debating whether to put him out of his misery, let him burn to death, or let the infected get him. After a moment, he fired once, and the man stopped screaming. No one deserved to die like that. He clicked his radio to open channel.

"Alpha Charlie, Alpha Charlie, this is Juliet Romeo. Hostile armoured personnel carrier and accompanying foot mobiles have been neutralized. Over."

After a moment of static, Marsden came back over the radio.

" _Juliet Romeo this is Zero. Good Work Sergeant. Extract your men back to HQ for rearming and retasking. Out."_

"Alright, you heard the boss," said Jason. "Let's get out of here."

"Sergeant!" called a voice from below. Jason looked down to see one of the guys from Vector carrying a body over his shoulder. He came up the stairs to the rows and set the body down. "I pulled him from the Warrior's troop compartment, he's still breathing."

"Alright someone get me a med kit," said Jason as he set his kit down. "We do what we can now, then we..." He looked at the body and recognized the face. He'd last seen it sprinting away in terror into a heard of infected.

"Son of a bitch."

* * *

 **Well here we are, the penultimate chapter**

 **Let me know what you think, there is one last chapter to come. No idea when it is going to be done so I will see you then.**

 **As ever, please Review/Favourite/ Follow.**

 **Jango**


	18. Chapter 18

**Highschool of the dead: The British Outbreak**

 **Chapter 18: A new Dawn**

 **Chester safezone  
Chester Castle**

 **Z-day +59  
09:00**

The smell of death hung over the city of Chester.

The soldiers of the 1st Chester Militia Company were exhausted, fewer in number, and mourning. It had taken 4 days to fully re-secure the city. 4 days of clearing the city building by building, floor by floor, room by room of infected. They had also been called upon to help check each individual surviving citizen for bites and clear out the dead that littered the streets and buildings. They had gathered the bodies of the fallen, infected, soldier and civilian alike on the racecourse, and burned the lot. The smell of death reeked over the city, and it mirrored the feeling of the city's inhabitants.

Over 500 civilians died in the attack, some from the attackers, most from the infected that got in and broke into the shelters. Almost a dozen civilians abandoned the city and quite a few were still missing. 38 Soldiers lost their lives defending and retaking the city. 2 more were critically wounded in the hospital.

Victory was theirs, but at a hell of a price.

As such, to describe the atmosphere of the meeting room where Jason currently sat with the other senior NCO's and officers of the company as morbid would be a generous overstatement. Most had lost someone, and most were running on little food or sleep. Marsden entered the room and waved the soldiers down before they could snap to attention.

"Alright," he said. "I'll skip the motivational speech crap. We're not American." A few people smiled at the jab and a few even chuckled. Marsden let it die down before continuing.

"The walls are secure and we've taken care of the infected within the perimeter. That's the good news."

"And the bad news?" asked Jason. Marsden sighed

"The bad news is that in defending the city we've burned through most of our ammo. The base location the prisoners gave us was abandoned and the council is pissed as hell at us for letting so many of civvies die."

"Wouldn't have happened if the police had done their job," someone muttered. While he didn't say anything, Jason agreed and he suspected that Marsden did too.

After the city was secured, the council labelled the police as heroes for their few actions of getting civvies to safety and said nothing of the military's efforts in actually securing the city. It was the opinion of the council and the civilians that, as Jason had heard one civilian put it; _"It's their duty to defend us. Why the hell should we be praising them for doing what they signed up for?"_ Apparently a little goddamn sympathy and respect was too much to ask for.

"Well be that as it may, we have more serious problems to deal with," said Marsden. "Like our ammo shortage."

"Exactly how bad are we talking sir?" asked one soldier.

"We don't have even had enough 5.56 left to give everyone a standard combat load," replied Marsden. That got all their attention. Standard combat load was 180 rounds or 6 magazines per man, and many soldiers liked to carry almost double that into battle. If they were so short that they couldn't even give everyone the standard, they were in deep shit.

"Ok," said one optimistic soldier, "so we raid somewhere for more."

"We've cleared out all the nearby bases," said someone else. "Everything within a 20-mile radius has been picked clean by us or someone else."

Jason sighed. That wasn't an exaggeration either. Every gunshop, military installation, police station and civilian shooting club within 20 miles had been picked clean. Anything further afield they didn't really have the fuel or resources to drive to... Then it hit him.

"What about Altcar?" asked Jason aloud. The din of conversation and debate that had started ceased and all eyes turned to him. The Army shooting range at Altcar had been an army training ground since the 1700's. It was one of the largest infantry firing ranges in the country. "We haven't hit it yet."

"The most direct route by road is 40 miles, Jason," said Marsden. "And we'd have to go through the centre of Liverpool. No way in hell am I sending anyone through there on a run."

"What if we went by train?" asked Jason. Most of them looked at Jason like he'd finally lost it. Jason saw he needed to explain. "Get me a map."

Someone retreated to the map room while they all put tables together to make a central desk for Jason to use. The maps arrived and Jason poured over them with everyone gathering around.

"See? Right here," said Jason, pointing at the map. "The railway line goes straight from Chester to Liverpool, where we switch to this branch line which goes to the station outside the base. Remember Easter camp last year sir? I got the flu the day before so caught a train to come meet up with you. The station is right outside the base front gate. It's perfect."

"One problem Sergeant," said one NCO. "I thought all the trains ran on electricity. No power for the tracks, no power for the train."

"Actually," said another NCO, his nametag read Atlas. "Arriva Trains Wales still operate some of the old Class 150 sprinter trains. They're diesel trains, as long as they got fuel in the tanks they should run. There's one in a siding at Chester station." For a moment, everyone looked at him funny.

"How do you know that?" asked someone. Atlas Shrugged.

"I was a train spotter before all this," he replied. "And I saw it on a scavenger run about a week ago."

"Could you drive one of these things?" asked Marsden. Atlas shook his head.

"I was a train spotter, not a driver," he replied. Jason summarized.

"So all we'd need is a driver and we're good to go?"

"We'd probably need a signaller as well," Said Atlas, "Someone who known's how to work the points in the signal boxes. To make sure were on the right tracks."

"I'll put out a notice for signalmen and train drivers," said Marsden. "It's a bit of a hike but I guess we'll have to take it. Good work Rees. Alright, you've all got stuff to do, dismissed."

* * *

 **Abode Hotel  
Room 23**

 **Z-day +59  
09:40**

Akio returned to the bunkroom exhausted. She had barely had any sleep in the last 24 hours and had just come back from leading a recce patrol beyond the wall. The recent fighting had attracted increasingly larger numbers of infected to the city; her patrol was trying to find out how many. The answer was _'too bloody many'_ as one of her soldiers had put it.

Jason looked up from cleaning his rifle, which lay disassembled on the hotel room's desk. HQ had recalled all of the teams stationed at firebases back to Chester, but there wasn't enough room to house them all in the castle, so many had been billeted in hotel rooms and vacant houses. Akio and Jason had managed to get one together, their relationship was not exactly being a secret anymore.

"Rough day huh?" asked Jason. Not that he needed to, her exhausted face said it all. She nodded as she stripped off her body armour and webbing, leaving the pieces of kit where they fell on the floor. She collapsed onto the double bed with a heavy sigh. Jason smiled. He stood up and walked to the foot of the bed. Akio had been so tired that she hadn't bothered to remove her combat boots. Not wanting her to catch anything, he carefully set about unlacing them, pulling them off her sweat soaked feet and setting them on the floor.

He looked up from her feet to her face. Her emerald green eyes shone with the same intensity as they had when Jason first met her, but this time, there was something more. In Jason's experience, every woman offered permission differently. Akio's was a deepening gaze, set shoulders, and a pursed lower lip, less articles of consent, more of a unified demand: _now or never._

Akio crawled up the bed towards him. As he stood up at the end of the bed, she knelt on the bed to meet him. They came together and kissed as their arms fought past each other for purchase on bodies they both knew but were eager to re-explore. Just as Jason was about to draw her in tight, she pushed him away.

As he leant against the draws against the wall, he thought for a horrible moment that she'd changed her mind. Then Akio reached for the pins that kept her hair coiled and shook it loose, letting her blood hair cascade down in the way she knew he liked. She had already tossed the pins and set about her fatigue shirt before Jason realized he was being left behind in a race where winning meant a tie. He did his best to catch up.

He pulled his fatigue shirt over his head, not bothering with the buttons. By the time his head was free of his collar, Akio was throwing her undershirt aside. Jason leaned over to unlace his boots as she unfastened the buckle on her trouser belt and threw it aside. He'd barely gotten his feet free when she wrapped her hands behind his neck and pulled him down onto the bed, wearing nothing but a determined stare.

Sitting astride his ankles, she helped him with his trouser belt. Then she crawled upward, planting her hands on his toned chest and began to move. Jason was instantly enticed my the back and forth sway of her ample chest. He cupped the weight of her in his hands and instantly knew he'd made a tactical error. The fullness of Akio's skin started an ache that crept quickly up his legs and into the small of his back, all she had to do was squeeze, and a moment later he was spent.

Akio fell heavily onto Jason's chest. For a moment they lay still, both breathing heavily and slick with sweat. Slowly Akio brushed her fingers over Jason's collarbone, up his neck, pausing at his chin on the roughness of unshaven stubble that had started to grow.

"I've been meaning to take care of that," Jason said.

"Don't," replied Akio, "I like it."

Jason let his head relax against the pillow. Usually, this would be the time his mind swayed into a period of second-guessing, something that always happened after a difficult mission. But now he found it impossible with Akio's warm body pressed against his.

"But this?" Akio rubbed her finger against his momentarily furrowed brow. "Not so much." Jason smirked.

" _That,_ I can take care of."

Jason rose at the waist and rolled easing Akio down onto the bed. He cradled her head in one hand while he steadied her hips with the other. Eye's locked they began again.

This time, Jason set the pace - burying his fingers in her unwashed hair. She let her neck slide freely this against his palm, but would not release her hips. Soon Akio's face flushed and her eyes shut with a moan and pained smile that Jason would remember long after he had forgotten the worst of his failings.

Their exertions warmed the bed, but they knew the heat wouldn't last. They retreated under the duvet and Akio slid back into the bend in Jason's waist. He wrapped a protective arm around her and nuzzled his chin behind her ear, exiling a warm breath against the back of her neck.

"Get some rest," Jason said softly.

"Don't let me sleep too long," mumbled Akio as she drifted off. Jason smiled and set his own head against the pillow and drifted off himself.

...

A few hours later Jason had risen and dressed. He let Akio sleep on, she needed the rest, but he had something he needed to do. Before he left, he collected her scattered clothing and kit, folding them carefully and placing them on the floor by her bed. He took one last glance at her sleeping form, before departing silently.

It was a short walk from his bunkroom to the hospital. Jason was not looking forward to this, but he had to do it. No one challenged him as he walked through the hospital. Either everyone was too busy with other tasks, or no one felt up to challenging a fully camouflaged and armed soldier. After a few minutes of walking, Jason found his room. It was the only one with an armed guard outside it. The guard regarded Jason with a wary eye as the teenage Sergeant stopped in front of him.

"I need to talk to the prisoner," he said. The guard looked him over.

"Alright," the man replied. He produced a plastic tray from a table next to him. "Surrender all your weapons."

Jason reluctantly turned over his Sig and combat knife, and then his backup knife from its ankle sheath when the guard pressed him about any backups. Once the guard was satisfied Jason was disarmed, he let him in.

The hospital room was like almost every other in the building, but it was the occupant Jason had come to see. His face was burned and scarred horribly. In a way, he reminded Jason of 2 Face from The Dark Knight.

"How nice," said the occupant with a venom-laced voice. "The great Sergeant Jason Rees has come to see me in my lowly hospital room." Jason scowled.

"You should be grateful that someone pulled you from that burning Warrior," replied Jason. "I would have left you to die."

The room occupant laughed, "Why am I surprised, you've already left me to die once."

Jason restrained himself from lashing out. When the private from Fireteam Vector had dragged Max's unconscious form from the burning AFV, Jason had half a mind to execute the traitor medical student right then and there. However, the human side of him told him to save the SOB's life.

"You were the one who panicked," said Jason. "You ran and then you through in with a gang of murders. I can't say I'm impressed."

"And while I ran for my life," hissed Max, "you and your squad hid like cowards and left me for dead."

"Fred didn't," said Jason. "He disobeyed my orders and went after you. _He_ risked his life trying to save yours." Max scoffed and shrugged indignantly.

"Yeah? What happened? Dumb fucker get bit? I suppose you're going to tell me he died a fucking hero."

Jason had had it. He simply rushed to the bed with practiced stealth and grabbed Max by the collar of his hospital gown and hissed at him. Max's eyes widened in fear, fully expecting Jason to end him then and there.

"Yes, it happens that he did. He was bitten while searching for your sorry hide! He was about to off himself when a little girl found him. Instead of killing himself then and there he contacted us and brought me and Akio to him. He then made as much noise as he could to lead the infected away so we stood a better chance of getting out alive. So yes, he died a fucking hero."

"Huh, so the stupid git died alone and for nothing. Good thing there was no one here for him..."

Max thought he was clever in with his insult, but as Jason's hands jumped from his collar to his throat, with the sergeant's fingers wrapping around his throat and squeezing, he instantly regretted it.

"Tell that to his pregnant girlfriend," dared Jason. "Tell it to Corporal Long, or even me again, and you will live _just_ long enough to regret it."

Jason released his grip on Max's throat. Max suddenly started breathing deeply and crawled as far away from Jason as his bed would allow. Deciding he'd done what he needed to do, Jason turned and left silently, as he collected and equipped his weapons to his person, he told the guard.

"If he runs, take him alive... I'll volunteer for his firing squad."

* * *

 **Chester Castle  
Chester Safezone**

 **Z-day +62  
08:45**

Within a few days of its proposition, Marsden, and the council had given the green light for Jason's proposed excursion to the Altcar range for ammo. A train driver who was familiar with the type they would use and a signaller who knew the line. Jason was assigned to lead the raid, and he handpicked his platoon of 20 from over 80 volunteers. But on the morning they were due to depart, as troops ran final checks on their kit, an unforeseen problem arose.

"No means NO, Alex! You are not coming on this one!" Jason told her for the 6th time.

"You need a medic, I'm going," replied Alex resolutely.

Jason sighed, "I have a medic Alex. And I am _not_ taking a pregnant woman into a combat zone. Especially not you!"

"Why not?!" she demanded. Before Jason could answer, she was overcome by a bout of morning sickness, emptying most of her breakfast onto the assembly area's tarmac. Jason sighed and pulled the few stray bits of hair aside.

"Well, that's one reason," said Jason once her nausea subsided and he produced his water bottle for her. "Another is that we're only carrying enough supplies for 48 hours, _max_. If we end up in the field for longer than expected we can't have a pregnant woman slowing us down." She glared at him, to the point it almost made him reconsider his choice to go without full body armour.

"That and I promised Fred I'd look out for you. Risking you getting bit in the field doesn't seem like a good way to keep good on that promise now does it?"

"No, but... but... Arrrrgh!" Jason smiled as Alex saw reason admitted defeat.

"I will kill you for this Jason," she grumbled. Jason shrugged while grinning.

"Many have tried. I wish you luck." Alex slapped him for the jive. He shrugged again.

"Yeah, I'll give you that," he knelt down and picked up his patrol bag. "See you later Alex."

He turned to his soldiers, "Alright, grab your gear! Let's roll!"

...

Even in their patrol order, it only took a 15-minute march to reach the train station.

For the most part, they had opted to keep their kit light, choosing MOLLE and PLCE webbing sets over the more protective but bulky Osprey Body armour. This was partly because of the sweltering early June sun, but also because of their slightly altered weapons loadout. Everyone, as well as their standard L85's, L129's and handguns, was also carrying a sword or bladed weapon of some type or description due to the lack of ammo they carried, and they needed the extra mobility to use them effectively that Osprey denied. Jason himself had pilfered an old 1907 pattern Sword bayonet from the Cheshire regiment museum's storeroom, while Akio stuck with her trusty machete and Johnson took point with his bastard sword.

The route there was relatively quiet; thanks to a noise making operation that someone had come up with and implemented (Specifically someone plugged an iPod into the loud speakers on a riot vehicle and started playing classic rock as loud as they could while driving slowly away from the city). Only a few infected challenged them on route, and were quietly dispatched. Before long, the platoon made their way across the tracks towards the train that they required. While the majority set up a protective screen around the train, the drivers and a small group of soldiers set about clearing and starting the train.

"How we looking?" asked Jason as he stepped into the small driver's cab where the driver was going over an instruction manual.

"We... we should be able to get going shortly," said the driver. He looked slightly unsettled to Jason. After a moment's glance around the cab, he saw why. A splatter of blacky gooey infected blood decorated the wall corner. It probably belonged to the last driver, who came to a brutal end at the head of one of Jason's troop's blades. Understandably the driver was slightly phased by it.

"Hey," said Jason, getting the driver's attention. "You've got 20 fully armed guys and gals backing you up. We got your back. You do the Choo choo bits, we'll do the stabby shooty bits. Ok?" The driver gave a weak nod as his reply.

"Yeah... Ok."

"Great," said Jason, "then let's get this bucket of bolts rolling."

"Alright," said the driver. He turned back to his checklist and ran through it.

"Hydraulic break; engaged. Hydraulic fluid Pressure; looking good. Electrics: on. Ammeter; charging. Voltmeter: looking good. Fuel cock: on. Fuel Pump; on. Alright then, moment of truth."

The driver punched the motor starter. The diesel engine groaned and sputtered for a moment before turning over, roaring into life for the first time before quietening to idle. Jason gave the driver a pat on the shoulder before heading into the back and opening the side door.

"Alright load up!" he called. The doors opened and the soldiers climbed aboard, some dropping kit bags on tables while others took up covering positions at the open doors.

"Last man!" called Johnny as he and Akio climbed aboard.

"All aboard!" called Jason to the driver. The driver flashed a thumbs up through the open cab door and a moment late the door shut, accompanied by an automated computer voice telling them to mind the doors. A moment later, the train set off, and the soldiers settled down as it picked up speed.

"Alright," called Jason. "I want a someone at each door keeping watch. One Section you're up first, Two-section will swap out in an hour. Get some rations down you and take a load off, guys."

The troops settled in for the ride, with Jason and Akio shooed a private away from a table he was in the process of occupying and occupied it for themselves. Jason started eating a cold MRE from his ration pack while Akio just watched him for a moment.

"What?" asked Jason through a mouthful of cold chicken curry.

"It was him," said Akio. "Wasn't it?"

The evening before, Jason had been asked to come to the hospital, specifically the morgue. Apparently they had found the body of an enemy combatant... by a shattered Lee Enfield sniper rifle. Jason went down to the morgue and confirmed his suspicions.

It was Will. He'd been shot through the chest with multiple 5.56 rounds and was found in the approximate area that the sniper who fired on Akio's unit during the siege was thought to have fired from.

"Yeah," replied Jason. "It was him."

"You regret not having the chance to say goodbye?" asked Akio. She knew that, even though they had tried repeatedly to kill each other, at the end of the day, he had been Jason's friend.

"Yeah."

"Anything I can do?"

"Yeah," Jason looked up at her and looked her in the eye. "Don't leave me."

"Never," She smiled, as she leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Uck! Get a room!" said a private in joking disgust. Jason and Akio smiled.

"Right," said Jason "Down Private. 20 press-ups."

"Damn it!"

...

The train ride was, for the most part, uneventful with most of the soldiers eating or relaxing on route. They geared up as they approached the station and cleared it quickly. Jason ordered the driver, signalman, and 4 soldiers to stay aboard and radio if there was trouble. Everyone else would split into 2 sections, one lead by Akio and the other by Jason, and would go scout the armoury and the ammo bunker.

The main base itself consisted of a group of barracks buildings, mess halls, a first aid station, administration buildings, and an assault course contained within a 3-metre high chainlink fence that surrounded the complex as well as the ranges themselves. However the thing the soldiers were noticing the most, was the inherent lack of life; infected or otherwise.

"Well, this is creepy," said one soldier in Jason's section. Jason was inclined to agree. When he'd been here for shooting events, the place had been packed with soldiers, cadets and other personnel, now it was eerily quiet.

"The ammo bunker just down the road," said Jason. "Come on."

What Jason didn't tell them was that 'just down the road' was over a mile to the bunker. As they neared the bunker, Jason's radio crackled.

" _Juliet Romeo, this is Alpha Lemur. Be advised, we've had visual contact with a single live contact dressed in camouflage. Over."_

"Alpha Lemur this is Juliet Romeo, Do you still have visual contact? Over?" asked Jason, replying to Akio's transition.

" _Juliet Romeo, this is Alpha Lemur. Negative. It was only a brief contact at range. Over."_

"Alpha Lemur this is Juliet Romeo. Roger. Keep your eyes open. Could be more of them. Out." Jason cut the radio and turned to his section. "Alright, eye's up guys. We're not alone out here."

The section all tensed up a bit as they approached the bunker. The bunker was a large, 100-meter square concrete building that stood 2 meters above ground and went down several stories underground with the whole above ground section being covered with grass except the armoured doors. Jason's section, now moving tactically, hugged the wall as they moved toward the door. As they rounded the corner, they came face to face with another camouflaged group of men, rounding the opposite corner at the same moment.

For a moment the 2 sides stared at each other, not expecting the other to be there, before they raised their weapons on each other.

"British Army!" shouted Jason, training his weapon on the apparent leader of the group.

"Royal Marines!" The man shouted back at the same time. For a moment, the 2 sides held each other in their sights, before Jason broke the silence.

"Wait. What?"

"Lieutenant, Royal marines!" replied the leader. "Who are you?"

"Sergeant. British Army," replied Jason. "1st Cheshire Militia Company."

"1st Cheshire Militia company?" repeated a marine sergeant comically. "No such thing. Where did you come from?"

"The Chester safezone," replied Jason. He caught a few of the marine's looking between each other as if they were now unsure. "How about we lower our weapons and talk about this like civilised people? Or we can kill each other. You're choice."

A moment passed as the 2 sections held each other at gunpoint. The Marine lieutenant sizing up Jason and Jason glaring back at him, fully ready to pull the trigger. The Marine lowered his rifle and extended a hand to Jason.

"Lieutenant Sharpe," he said. "42 Commando." Jason verified this with a glance to the unit badges on their fatigues before lowered his rifle and shaking the Lieutenant's hand.

"Sergeant Rees," replied Jason. "Where did you come from?"

"HMS Bulwark," replied Sharp. "She's anchored off the coast. We came here for ammunition, the southern safe zones are running low after recent battles against the infected."

"Southern safezones?" asked Jason, confused. "There are other safezones?" Lieutenant Sharpe looked surprised.

"Sergeant, you may want to sit down," Said Sharpe. "I think we've got a lot to talk about."

* * *

 **HMS Bulwark  
Z-day +62  
17:23**

Lieutenant Sharpe processed the day's findings as the landing craft carried him and his platoon back to their mother ship, HMS Bulwark.

Ever since the outbreak began, the British military had been fighting a bloody battle against the infected, losing at first, and had only recently fought them to a stalemate in the south of England. When London fell on day 6, what remained of the government and royal family was evacuated south and the country placed under martial law. Almost everything north of Bristol was considered lost and the military's efforts had been mainly focused on keeping the south secure and preventing more infected coming by sea or air, in the form of infected or infected refugees.

However recently, the martial law had been lifted, placing a newly elected civilian government based on the Isle of White in control of domestic issues, freeing the military up to focus on other matters. Such as; preparing to take back the UK from the infected.

That was the reason that the admiralty had dispatched HMS Bulwark and her escort of the Destroyer HMS Duncan and the Frigate HMS Sutherland north from the naval base at Portsmouth; to secure strategic resources at sites at various coastal or near coastal sites all around the UK. The Altcar training base had been one of the first stops on their list.

But as well as the ammunition stockpiles they required, another potentially strategic resource had been unveiled to them; The Chester Safezone.

The landing craft's ramp lowered as it docked with Bulwark and the marine's disembarked. Sharpe ordered his Sergeant to get the team wound down from the day's ops while he reported to Captain Wallace. After a quick diversion to drop his rifle and webbing in his bunk, Sharpe headed for the captain's day cabin. He knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in," said the voice. Sharpe opened the bulkhead and stepped in. Captain Wallace sat at his desk in his Royal Navy working dress working on something. "Lieutenant."

"Captain. Sir," replied Sharpe. The captain returned the salute before gesturing to a seat. "Have a seat."

"Thank you, sir," replied Sharpe. "I came to give you a more thorough report than the one I gave over the radio. But to cut it short, we found a safezone."

"Chester," said Wallace. He'd heard Sharpe's initial report. "I dug up the file. Lost contact on day 6. Assumed overrun."

"Not according to Sergeant Rees," replied Starnes. "According to him, there about 1500 civvies and about 150 soldiers. They were here for ammo because some marauders got their hands on a Warrior, busted a gate down and shot up the place while the infected got in. They pushed them out, but lost a lot of people doing it."

"Did you say, Rees?" asked Wallace.

"Yeah. Why?"

"First name Jason? About this tall? Black hair? Blue eyes?"

"That's him. You know him?

Wallace chuckled. "I was on his admiralty review board for potential Royal Marine officers, and I served with his mother aboard the Iron Duke. Miranda Rees was a hell of an officer. It's too bad what happened, her husband was an asshole. But Jason... he had the makings of a damn good marine officer."

"He still might," said Sharpe. "He might decide to join."

"I'll put in my report to the admiralty. They'll probably have the choppers in the air before dawn. I want your report ready to send with it by 19:00."

"Yes, sir," replied Sharpe. He stood and saluted Wallace before being dismissed.

* * *

 **Chester Castle  
Chester Safezone**

 **Z-day +74  
09:00**

Jason and Akio marched towards Marsden's office, following the summons they'd received.

After they returned from Altcar, with their train packed to the roof with ammo base, but also food and medical supplies from the Bulwark, they'd told Marsden everything. That they weren't alone and not the last safezone in the UK.

Marsden and the Council thought he'd finally lost it, until a flight of Chinook helicopters with an Apache gunship escort came over the horizon and landed in the city, loaded with troops, supplies and representatives from the government. The week following, a convoy of supply Lorries arrived in the safezone, along with a full company from the Parachute Regiment and over army reinforcements. The Racecourse was secured and converted into a helicopter landing field, giving the safezone an operational airfield to bring in supplies and reinforcements. The 1st Cheshire had not been relieved of duty but had taken more of an advisement role to the newcomers.

"Any idea what this is about?" asked Akio. Jason shook his head.

"No clue," He said. They knocked on Marsden's door and waited until they were invited in. One thing that both Akio and Jason noticed was that there were a number of boxes littering the room. Curious, they snapped to attention and saluted Marsden, who saluted back.

"At ease," he said. "Have a seat." Akio and Jason sat down at the chairs opposite his desk before Marsden continued.

"The 1st Cheshire Militia company is being disbanded. Its members are either going to be absorbed into the rest of the military, or given the option to leave. And, assuming that you're both staying in, you've both been reassigned." He produced a file from his desk and handed it to Akio.

"Corporal Long. You've been assigned as a team leader with a promotion to Sergeant. 3rd Battalion, The Rifles. Pack your bags, you fly south in 2 days."

"Sergeant Rees," he said, handing Jason a file. "It seems that someone put your name through the Navy's system and saw that you aced the Royal Marine potential officer's course. They want you as a probationary marine sniper. 43 Commando, Royal Marine Boarding team, HMS Northumberland. You fly out tomorrow at 06:00."

"You're splitting us up sir?" asked Akio. Marsden sighed, he knew this was coming.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I really am."

"Is there no way to stay together?" Asked Jason. Marsden shook his head.

"Even if one of you were to quit, and I don't see that happening. It would have to be an extraordinary circumstance for them to keep you together."

"Understood sir," said Jason quietly. He stood up and Akio followed suit after a moment's hesitation. They both saluted, before departing silently.

...

"Why didn't you say anything damn it?!" screamed Akio. They had barely gotten back to their room at the abode when Akio started shouting. Jason calmly waited for her to finish before continuing.

"Akio," he said, "there is nothing we can do."

"You didn't even try to do anything!" she screamed, tears welling in her eyes. "It's like you don't even care!"

Jason stepped forward and enveloped her in a hug.

"I _do_ care Akio," he said quietly, "I care more than you will ever know. I _don't_ want to leave you. But we _have_ too. But I will stay in touch and I _will_ see you again."

"Promise?" asked Akio, her eyes red from where she'd been crying.

"Promise."

They spent the rest of the night together. Simply enjoying each other's company and holding each other close, until the time came. Goodbyes were said, parting gifts exchanged, and Akio watched as Jason boarded the helicopter, and watched it fly away into the dawn sky.

* * *

 **Well... that's it. The final chapter of the British Outbreak.**

 **Special thanks to my Beta Reader Draco38, who had to put up with my terrible spelling and punctuation.  
**

 **Also thanks to you guys the readers, for sticking with the story for this long. You guys are awsome.**

 **I have got a sequel in the works, no idea when it will be out, sometime after I've finished my GuP story.  
**

 **And that's it from me, thanks for reading**

 **Jango**


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